


Tamed

by emmaalouise



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Angst with a Happy Ending, But it gets better!, Captain!Seungcheol, Dark, Dark Past, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Hybrid Circus AU, Hybrid!Seungkwan, Hybrids, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Character Deaths, Officer!Hansol, Past Sexual Abuse, hybrid!jihoon, regular updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-10-20 15:59:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmaalouise/pseuds/emmaalouise
Summary: Seungcheol and Hansol had been dreaming of a case like this for years. Well dreaming was definitely the wrong word considering the living nightmare those hybrids suffered through, but an opportunity such as this was what they endured all the sleepless nights at the precinct for. But in his already exhausted state it was even harder to fight off the fear and doubts swarming in; what if they couldn't handle this? What if they couldn't bring down one of the most beloved hybrid circuses in the world? And as Captain whatever happened would fall onto his shoulders alone.As far as the public knew the hybrids of 'Massimiliano's Travelling Chimeras' were treated like royalty, because they must be from the way they shone with happiness on stage, right? Makeup couldn't fake smiles, right? Yet that couldn't be further from the truth which is why Seunghceol had to focus, why Hansol had to work harder than ever before, but what happens when keeping things professional with the two targets Woozi and Angel becomes harder than the officers ever imagined? Can true love really set you free? Even if the chains holding Jihoon and Seungkwan down aren't just metaphorical?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> *PLEASE READ PLEASE READ PLEASE READ*  
> This first chapter contains a scene of rape and abuse of an under aged character, it is not overly detailed but warnings obviously still apply. This is the only explicit scene of that nature in this fic, and it is merely to set up the past and background of that particular character. Read at your own discretion, the story will obviously make sense without actually reading the entire passage so feel free to skip it if that's what you'd rather. It is within the 'Jihoon age fifteen, 2612' section.

  _The environment is in us, not outside of us. The tree are our lungs, the rivers our bloodstream. We are all interconnected, and what you do to the environment ultimately you do to yourself. We save what saves us._

_The History; a brief outline:_

_The human races downfall began in 2204 according to the history books, and it was due to us mistakenly buying into the affordances of technology combined with the overall ease it provided our lives with. Not all that glitters is gold, but we chose to ignore that. In around 2034-2042 nearly all houses had become fully automated as well as voice controlled, along with any and every appliance within the threshold from boilers to can openers to ovens; cars followed suit in around 2050 too. And wasn't it just wonderful! Everything was so much easier! Cars didn't break down, we didn't have to do menial housework anymore, everything was done for us meaning that whatever time that had been spent cooking, cleaning, or refilling windshield wiper fluid could now be spent with our family; on more important things. At least that's how they advertised it to convince us all to switch over. You could even whistle the right tune and change gear, or programme it to be ready with an open door and thrumming engine at exactly 8:45 every day. So, so easy._

_We didn't lock our doors anymore either, we simply chipped ourselves or our family and friends instead so that with a wave of a hand we could gain entry to our homes. Anyone without the correct chip couldn't. And we thought that made us safe, we thought technology would keep us safe. Forests were burned and destroyed, lakes were drained, so little of Mother Earth remained on our planet that in 2130 it became officially declared that more animals were extinct and endangered than were safe. And in that same decade more natural disasters happened than ever before yet still humans devoured oil and land and trees faster than our technology could remake fake versions to mask the destruction of our planet. Scientists boasted that they'd replicated artificial trees that filtered out 130% more oxygen than real ones, just so we'd turn a blind eye as they destroyed nearly 60% of the remaining nature on the planet to make room for more factories and secluded housing estates. We could filter seawater, making it more hygienic to swim in and simultaneously draining it of all the litter created from previous generations, we pumped chemicals and nanotechnology into clouds to control when it rained and where it rained. We always needed more, wanted more, more time, more control, more power or money. The human race became addicts to technology, although some tried desperately to get clean in a world consumed by it._

_Around 2200 was when the divide happened. Resources were crucially low and the earth seemingly infected with our technology was fighting out the virus with everything she had. From the history books this decade was by far the most devastating for natural disasters, borderline millions died over the entire period in earthquakes and flash floods, with sinkholes opening up everywhere as bridges and other large infrastructures collapsed. Yet nothing was done when further millions called for change, the survivors knew how lucky they had been and knew their luck wouldn't last a second round of abuse from our planet. There had always been quiet voices ever since the technology assimilation began back in the 2200's, and they'd been building, getting louder over the decades but this massacre was the tipping point. Now they were screaming for us to return to what we once were, to return to nature and pray that Mother Earth forgave us. To abandon technology to save our race. It was this message that swept across the world, picking up the pace as it collected thousands more who shared belief in that message._

_Starting off at a slow pace but gradually increasing, these people collected into communities before vanishing without a trace. Presumably returning to nature in some form, in hidden or secluded regions that had remained untouched by our cancerous reach. While thousands abandoned the life of a technological dream, thousands clung on for dear life. Unable to let go of the ease it provided, unable to think of a world where they had to actually work, clean and prepare food to survive. Back in 2134, to mark 100 years since our journey to the perfect dream life began dozens of manmade islands were created as holiday resorts. Literally containing everything a human could ever desire. It was there that these tech addicts retreated to, to live out their toxic lives supposedly in peace, cut off from the rest of the world. And this was the divide. About a third of the population resided on these island while the rest was scattered across the world in whatever pocket of nature they could find, barely surviving yet still firmly believing that if they returned to nature they would be forgiven._

_For about 300 odd years the divide worked and everyone lived in near enough harmony. Then naturally, like with any radical movement came the extremists. There were different leaders and different groups spread over the continents, Margo Holden lead the Petrichor of the North, someone only known as Ciro that instructed a much more old fashioned following dubbed the Amandi's. These were largely peaceful tribes, choosing to live a purely natural life free from manmade technology. But the one that history cannot ever forget was Yugen and his following obviously dubbed the Yugenans. Egotistical bastard. They were known by many names across the remaining languages but all had an absurd common theme of them being the saviours, the heroes, and the angels that walked the earth. In the beginning a majority of the settlers were appreciative of the work he did, Yugen was the most active about reviving the earth and destroying the technology and succeeded in aiding the progress of their society. Those on land replenished the earth, replanted trees, destroyed all the manmade dams and simply allowed nature to take hold again. They lived simplistic almost caveman style lives for the first 100 years, then once they'd really settled and new generations came they began developing vast infrastructures but not in a way that damaged the environment. Things like hospitals, schools, and more secure houses were built. Technology and electricity was only ever used where absolutely necessary until a more sustainable resource could be found to fuel the human race, and it was still provided largely through solar polar. Slowly a more normal civilisation bloomed just like the flowers and trees did. While those on land thrived, those at sea perished as their resources dwindled leading to vicious cyber attacks launching between islands in a bid to remove the competition. As everything was controlled by technology, all it would take was a single virus to shut down all systems to leave the inhabitants without food or water. Those that remained turned back to land, and immediately infected the surrounding area which is what prompted these extremists to go without a doubt absolutely bat shit. Yugen specifically._

_Maybe bat shit wasn't the proper term, but the shoe fits._

_This extremist group heavily focused on that now almost propagandist catchphrase of 'returning to Mother Earth' and 'becoming one with her again in pursuit of salvation'. They followed it like it was rapture. These invaders had disturbed the peace, had begun to poison their Eden once more and while the majority of those on land didn't know what move to make Yugen didn't hesitate. To those living during that period of the 2550's it looked like the extremists simply swept the invaders away and locked them up somewhere. Whereas to someone brushing up on their modern history as hindsight is always twenty-twenty they would see what truly happened, that those people became prisoners for Yugen and his 'team' to experiment on to truly combine humans and nature. For salvation of course. It was in 2573 that the first successful hybrid was born. Hybrids had first been successfully created a few years before but a creature aptly named Eve was the first healthy birthed and not created hybrid with no deformities or any issues. Yugen had succeeded, but the world wasn't ready, regular women that weren't in Yugen's following didn't really fancy being bred to create his ideal race of humans and the extremists time was running out. So it was Yugen's dying legacy that he spent the last thirty years of his life creating an air borne serum that would force the rest of humanity to become hybrids and complete his life's work. He had discovered a certain genome that the mothers of the successfully birthed hybrids carried, thus he began isolating it from samples to study how it functioned._

_Thus began the plan to spread the genome making more people receptive to the air borne serum. However it was not a common gene present in a person's DNA. About 10% of the remaining population was estimated to carried the 'Yugen' genome, while 20-25% carried its opposite in a way. During the years of monitoring the forced pregnancies it was also discovered that around seven different genomes in any combination would result in defective or stillborn hybrids. That 20-25% carried this gene, and it was believed that they would not survive if the virus was released.  The remaining population carried neither genome, making it a coin toss of whether they'd live and the hybridity would begin to successfully present itself or if they'd perish a most gruesome death. Therefore Yugen hid away for the remaining years he had to perfect the serum into a two part process. The first step was to release a virus and infect whatever water supplies possible to infect whomever he could with a relatively harmless poison that contained the 'Yugen Gene', it was done with the hope that if the genome was at least in the blood stream that it would increase the chances of the actual virus penetrating into the very core of that victim's DNA. The second step was to release an air borne gas in various locations of the world that contained various animal genomes and DNA and well as the genomes of successful hybrids in the hope that it would undergo the process of self fertilisation and fragmentation. Essentially the already present 'Yugen Gene' would supposedly combine with that of the successful hybrids to form a complete pair undergoing self fertilastion that would lay dormant in the reproductive systems of humanity until those humans reproduced. The second stage would only affect those compatible, and those that were incompatible would perish. The 'Yugen Gene' would latch onto whatever animal genome it came across (which resulted in the most grotesque mutations possible of various spliced animals all presenting features through one human body) and latch itself onto a portion of skin or muscle within the human body. This area would then isolate itself from the rest of the body much like a tumor until it eventually burst and infected the host, spurring on an incredibly painful and slow process of biological mutations._

_But it had to be done in quick succession as the gene would quickly fade out of a person's body within a matter of weeks, so in the late spring of 2582 everything was put into action. Non-followers had initially learned of his success and thought very little of it, figuring that it couldn't possibly be true. It wasn't until the portion of humanity carrying the counter gene all either fell dead or swarmed to hospitals that the threat was taken seriously. Tribes and cities alike all converged on the Yugen colony situated in what once was the south east of France but it was too late. As Yugen's Arcadia was taken over and burned to the ground all it did was begin the second stage and release the gas, turning anyone with compatible DNA into a hybrid of whichever animal their genes bonded with from the gas. But a majority of these made hybrids died, the airborne serum wasn't powerful enough to fully transform hundreds of people yet simultaneously wasn't powerful enough to be fatal to those incompatible. Thousands died but hundreds of thousands more recovered, either human or hybrid._

_Then we did what we always do. We rebuilt and carried on living. But again, like it always is, change was never welcome, hybrids were never truly accepted, deep in the recesses of our minds those few thousand that survived were always blamed. Always seen as Yugen's children._

_Jihoon, age four, 2601_

Jihoon had been so intently focused on chasing the other boy- the one with the pretty wings and even prettier voice- that he hadn't even realised that he had leapt over the walls surrounding his family's secluded estate with ease, the tip of a long tail grazing an overhanging tree branch. He hadn't seen this boy before, well, Jihoon hadn't seen anyone other than his mother, father, or servants before and he was just so curious, insatiably so to meet and learn about what his mother would commonly refer to as outsiders. Those that were lesser. He never understood why some hybrids were loved and others were hated?

He'd tried to ask why, begged to go outside or to be able to perhaps play with the children he sometimes heard running past the front of the house. No longer able to deal with the loneliness and in all honesty what four year old could, but they had silenced him with a harsh slap across his cheek or a painful tug on one of his ears. Telling him that he was special, that he was the first purebred snow leopard hybrid in many years, meaning that he must be kept safe and hidden at all times. But when he had seen the bright smile after having unconsciously awed aloud at the boy's singing from afar the small child couldn't find it in his heart to believe that the other boy had any intentions to harm him. Not when the other had floated down into a nearby tree, proceeded to pant and catch his breath for a few minutes before finally clocking Jihoon's presence in the third story window with a wide and genuine smile, song bursting from his lungs as it gently trailed off after a moment or two.

Nor when he so cutely chirped, "I'm Seungkwan! And I'm-" pausing to count on small, chubby fingers, waving them proudly towards Jihoon afterwards "-three years old! I've met lots of other peoples before but I'd not seen a kitty before! Mummy told me cats are mean but you look nice! Or are you mean? You have to tell the truth!"

Jihoon had stuttered out a furious denial, pleading that Seungkwan didn't leave him. He didn't want to be left alone again, that he just wanted to play for the first time in his life with someone else, and warily the other did nothing but sit there on the wall and stare. After moments had passed the stranger idly flitted over towards him with the very edges of pale brown wings glowing in the sunlight and yet again he just stared. Until the beautiful image was shattered when the other then proceeded to bop the snow leopard hybrid on the nose.

"Tag you're it!" Seungkwan had screeched before running off into the distance, and after shaking himself from his brief shock induced frozen stance Jihoon was quick to follow. Despite not particularly understanding what being 'it' meant but the other kept turning round and pausing, waiting for Jihoon to follow. After jumping to the ground to chase after the low flying bird hybrid the two of the effortlessly weaved through bushes and over flowerbeds without so much as disturbing a single petal. Only tinkling laughter left in their wake, the sound foreign to the cold and isolated grounds of the Lee mansion.

It was an utterly terrifying experience as Jihoon leapt over the thick concrete wall, heart thundering wildly when his hands quickly followed by his shoes audibly scraped along the dirt road of the outside world. Briefly Jihoon paused, casting a wary glance over his shoulder back towards his home, he thought of the loneliness, the sadness, the lingering cold that clung to him as he spent day after day night after night being ignored by all, his so called family included. In the mere moments he had known Seungkwan it was warmest Jihoon had ever felt, the strange feeling bubbling in his stomach and spilling from his smiling lips in the form of laughter and calls of the other's name, truly just the warmest feeling. And not just because the sun seemed to shine that much brighter when he was outside than when trapped inside behind barred and locked windows.

So he chose to shed the waistcoat and button up dress shirt his mother forced him to wear, stripping down to the thin vest top underneath as Jihoon called out for Seungkwan to "Wait up please, I'm coming I promise!" Which the other reluctantly did with a whine for the snow leopard hybrid to "Hurry up! I want to catch up with mummy!" But the second the two children were side by side again Seungkwan tore off ahead once more, teasing Jihoon for being so slow as they raced through street after street. Seungkwan's mother was long forgotten, and her panicked calls were only met with grimaces of passersby filled with pity.

He didn't even notice the sheer amount of people they ran past, nor the strange buildings, or how the sunlight illuminating the streets gradually began to dwindle until it fully died out. Eventually the two of them came to a halt at God knows where, Jihoon panting heavily in a pile on the floor, dirt and sweat mixing on his once pristine clothing. Heart hammering in his chest from exertion but in a matter of seconds the smile fell from Jihoon's face, ears swiveling around rapidly to locate the unknown sound that had blossomed nearby. Footsteps and heavy breathing caused him to stand and turn, voice pressing against his lips in a warning for Seungkwan to run or hide. Heart still going a mile against fragile ribs.

But he knew it was out of fear when he watched Seungkwan get plucked out of the sky, a wire noose on the end of a pole tightening around his neck as he was forced to the ground. A similar one slipping itself over Jihoon's head and no matter how much he screamed they never let him go, or Seungkwan for that matter.

They were simply thrown into the back of a poorly lit van, and when another hybrid dared to bare her fangs towards Seungkwan Jihoon stood protectively in front of the smaller boy, a growl in his throat and fire in his luminous eyes. And when everything settled down, and the gentle sway of the van coupled with the hum of the engine had sent the other kidnapped children to sleep -tear stains still visible in the moonlight- Jihoon lay awake, trembling hand clasping Seungkwan's tightly and despite the internal battle of whether or not to blame the bird hybrid for luring him away from safety Jihoon wasn't planning on ever letting go of that hand.

_Hansol, age six, 2601_

"Mama! Mama I know what I want to be! Cheollie wants to be it too so we can be it together and be best friends forever!" The small boy beamed at his mother, sliding the school bag off of his shoulders while toeing laced up shoes off as well. Hand darting above his head as he quickly waved to those still on the school bus that was returning them home directly one by one after their first school trip.

Deciding to indulge the sweet boy for the umpteenth time the woman came inside and rinsed off her hands, walking over to the sofa where she was greeted by a small body leaping up at her. The occasional foot or elbow blossomed pain somewhere on her body but eventually Hansol settled down, "Go on then Hansol, what do you want to be this week?"

"A policeman! Or like a cool detective! But I still want to work with hybrids because they are so cool! Have you seen hybrids before? Do you think there are dragon hybrids, or unicorns, what about tiger hybrids?! Can I work with tiger hybrids please? They could be all like roar and I'd be like roar back!"

"Oh? Oh will you now?"

"Don't make fun of me! I will, you'll see! One day I'll be a fancy detective that will help hybrids all over the world and I'll do it with Cheollie!" Hansol cried indignantly, but the pouting didn't last long when a sloppy kiss was pressed against his cheek, the child quickly ran away squealing about cooties with laughter interrupting the words. Chased down and easily caught by his mother, the world titled until it was fully upside down as Hansol was lifted by his feet alone, his mother blowing raspberries against a now bare stomach causing him to writhe and plead, kicking out desperately. Only ceasing once they came to rest in the sofa once more, curled up side by side as fingers worked through his tangled hair.

 _Seungkwan, age eight,_ _2606_

Seungkwan violently jolted awake as their trailer went over yet another large bump or maybe a pothole in the road, frustrated by how even though he had been dealing with it for years he still continued to jerk awake in fear by the simplest disturbance. But luckily Jihoon did not stir this time and he felt a sigh of relief escape him, cautiously walking over to the boy with hands trailing over the walls and counter tops in case the trailer lurched again. Briefly pausing at the sink to grab a cloth and quickly dousing it in water, wringing it out on the way as he continued stumbling towards Jihoon with a trail of water droplets being left in his wake.

Gently Seungkwan began washing away the dirt and sweat mingling on Jihoon's face, hands, and pretty much any exposed skin he could reach. The boy needed the sleep so desperately but being clean was far more important in a place like this. Dirt meant infection or sickness, and those were not looked upon kindly by the ring master. After all if you couldn't perform you couldn't eat or drink that night or any other night until you began earning your keep once more. A completely new horizon greeted half open amber eyes when he peered out of the grimy window, however he was careful not to get too close as not to breathe the mould in and get sick yet again. Jihoon had enough to worry about. A new language adorned the street signs, but thankfully it was one he recognised so at least he wouldn't have to learn the songs from scratch, maybe, just maybe the ring leader would let him use the old songs if he could sing them well enough.

Returning to his bed he discovered that a spring from the worryingly old mattress had broken through the sheets in the night and Seungkwan cringed at the sight of blood on the sheets. Not that it was new, having blood or other bodily fluids stain their bedding or clothing it just meant that Jihoon would need to disinfect the cut for him as finding it himself amidst his feathers was nearly impossible. But this was one of the few times that it was his blood on the white fabric. It was always Jihoon's. It was always Jihoon who took the blame, and therefore took the beating by whatever higher up Seungkwan and therefore now supposedly Jihoon had wronged. It was Jihoon's fur that been completely burned off all across his stomach when the ring leader decided that he was in the mood to see someone cry, and what was left was thin and brittle from lack of food and stress. Jihoon's hands that were scarred and rough, calloused from having to run across all those beams and wires, performing difficult flips and tricks on sandy floors, it was Jihoon that had matured far beyond his years simply because he had too.

Because despite his avid protests Jihoon still did it all to protect Seungkwan, he had been since they were first taken. He'd slip most of his food to Seungkwan, take on all the solo performances possible purely to keep Seungkwan out of the focus on the ring master. Jihoon learned the most complex and phenomenal routines so that he could simply sit in his little metal cage and sing his heart out and never have to worry about anything else other than that, the other had learned everything there was to know about their twisted family, learned things no child was meant to know simply so that Seungkwan wouldn't have too.

But thus was the life of a child enslaved to the travelling circus. And thus was their fate for the remainder of their days, but at least they would be together.

_Seungcheol, age twelve, 2606_

"Did you hear that Hansol?! Mum said we could stay up until ten so we could watch the new episode of 'Hidden Among us' and 'Haunted Hybrid'!" Seungcheol yelled as he dragged Hansol downstairs, pausing to stop and turn back in order to grab his duvet in the process before continuing down the stairs. Settling Hansol down on the sofa and telling him to turn the TV on before he disappeared to bring the pizza they had ordered into the room. Placing it down on the table before he too hopped onto the sofa, coincidentally chucking the throw pillows to the floor in order to get comfy.

Both programmes were current favourites for them, 'Hidden Among Us' was a show about firstly how hybrids live their daily lives in human environments without even being noticed as well as how to spot a hybrids and identify it to it's original species. And the second which was on a little bit later because quite frankly it was terrifying was all about the darker sides of hybrids and how they used to be treated, in some way how they were still treated currently. Whether it be the latest hybrid attack on a person, or the most recent maniac that went on a killing spree trying to quote on quote purify the world by killing the half-breeds.

But to be honest anything hybrid related interested both of them greatly, crime shows got boring and predictable, but not these ones. The dream of working with and helping hybrids had stuck all throughout their childhood along with the idea of working in the police force. And as they were both going into high school next year they knew how important it was to firstly stay healthy, and to secondly keep their grades at the highest they could be. But thoughts of the future were brushed off in favour of Seungcheol becoming absorbed in the glory of pizza and pictures of one of the rarest species of hybrids there was, snow leopards.

_Jihoon, age eleven, 2608_

Jihoon tried to ignore the way his skin crawled, the way it itched and bubbled with something new and foreign, thrumming through his veins. How wetness dripped down his inner thigh, and how he knew his now beyond flushed face must have looked worrying to the other performers given that he was actually yet to do his routine. Another cat hybrid looked at him with the greatest sympathy, but Jihoon couldn't focus on that, he had a show to put on. He couldn't think about the fact that he had nearly broken his tail last time, or how he had fractured his wrist during the show before that. He was only still here because of the fast healing ability his mutated DNA lead him to possess.

All Jihoon let himself think about was the adoring public chanting in a foreign tongue, the only thing he could recognise was his stage name in between chants and cheers. He was only allowed the think about the thin wire beneath his feet that he precariously balanced on it. How it felt beneath his palms as he tumbled over himself again and again, how the air danced along his body even through his stage consume. The heavy stage makeup on his face and bare skin was causing him to sweat so much but it was necessary, it covered up bruises and scars from nightmares come to life. But he would indulge himself tonight, for tonight he would think about Seungkwan. How stunningly beautiful his voice was, how angelic he looked with flowers woven into his hair and wings, with soft lights beaming down upon his from high above in the staging fixtures. He couldn't deny how his tail curled at the tip and flicked from side to side with happiness and how his face split apart in a grin of pure pride. He had done it, he had protected him and now his baby brother was sat at centre stage and the ring master was actually smiling for once. He just had to keep protecting him, no matter what it cost.

By the end of his performance colours were dancing behind Jihoon's eyes, and before it even registered what was happening a fellow cat hybrid was dragging him off towards their allocated cabin. His frazzled body being dumped unceremoniously in a grubby bath tub filled with icy water. It should have hurt, it should have stung like pinpricks and fire but the only thing he felt was relief, finally the heat dancing in his bones had calmed.

"It's called a pre-heat, and please trust me that it'll only get worse throughout the week unless you take care of yourself. Now that you've begun maturing it will happen around once every few months maybe, maybe more maybe less, but don't be surprised by that and if yours are real irregular because you're like really, really young to start having this crap kid." A seemingly disembodied voice called out as more cold water was added into the tub. "A pre-heat is a little bit different than what's to come when you get a bit older, a pre-heat is like- like you get similar symptoms but you couldn't mate or anything yet because your body is sorta changing all on the inside to get ready for that stuff later on- and if someone tries touching you like that kid you best come find me you hear!? Ah christ look at you, you've got it rough haven't you?" Raphael was known as a man of few words, so to see him saying anything more than a yes or a no was stunning to Jihoon, especially because he was talking to him of all people. Not that any of it was really processing on a function level right now, not with his brain dripping out of his ears. Or so it felt like anyways.

"Uh, yeah, yeah sure, I'll um, I'll fi-find you when- if- yeah, I don't feel good mister Raphael-"

"It's alright kid, I know you don't. I would suggest wearing as loose and as little clothing as possible for the rest of the week, and taking ice baths at every opportunity. Once you get a bit older and they turn into regular heats and are bit more regular I can start giving you tablets that help you control them but until then you're on your own kid. Get out when you think you've cooled down enough, I'll make sure to save you some food." The man explained, his voice gruff and his expression one of embarrassment and discomfort but Jihoon could have cried right then from how he was somewhat being taken care of by this man.

"Thank you, thank you for taking me here- for all of this."

"Shut it kid it's fine. You'll have to actually eat all the food this week though alright, there will be no giving any to Seungkwan or you will pass out, or over heat, or get sick, or all three. For this week you have to come first. And don't look so confused, everyone knows how much you do for that boy, we just want you to know that we aren't all the enemy, and there are some of us that mean no harm against either of you I promise."

And with that he disappeared, quickly being replaced by a very distraught Seungkwan who only stopped crying when Jihoon allowed himself to be spoon fed and fussed over once Raphael had returned. Even going so far as to be carried back to their little trailer and placed in the bigger bed for once, the one that Seungkwan always had because of his wings. But some things were just too much and half way through the night, when Jihoon woke up panting and clawing at the sheets once more he dragged a now semi-awake Seungkwan into the bigger bed. His palms making quick work of the mussed up feathers as he stretched the other's wings out, knowing how much pain the other would be in if he didn't and bare feet then padded across the dirty floor to the smaller bed where he curled up and fell into an unfit night of sleep.

_Hansol, age thirteen, 2608_

Hansol ignored the way eyes bore into his own when he stood in front of the class with Seungcheol, proudly telling the class what they both wanted to be when they grew up. Even surprising the teacher with their seemingly endless amount of knowledge about hybrids and their society, answering every single question a student asked with ease and soon enough class was over and everyone had begun filing out but they were still stood there in shock from the support and praise they had received. Their dream was strange to say the least, most people feared or hated hybrids, some tolerated them but it was borderline uncommon that any human showed any form of empathy towards them.

"I think your dream is absolutely wonderful boys, and I pray that you never give up on it. Now go! Class is over, you may go home, and be sure to tell your parents about this!" The woman yelled as she ushered the two teens out of the room.

Support was received all round, by teachers, by parents, by teachers and family in general and they both never knew the significance of being surrounded by so many people that had nothing but admiration. How amazing it felt, like a weight off of their shoulders leaving them giddy and carefree. Spending their summer together as per usual without the slightest ounce of worry.

_Seungcheol, age fourteen, 2608_

Seungcheol looked down at the form in front of him, Hansol doing the same. Whatever they picked, what additional four subjects they got their degrees in other than maths, english, and science could potentially define their lives forever. Now was the moment when they had to either continue following their dream or chose something more broad and applicable to many careers. Maybe they were overthinking everything, looking to deeply into what took seconds to decide for their fellow classmates.

But when he thought about the episode of 'Haunted Hybrid', all the children being forced into slavery, how it made his skin crawl he knew what he wanted to do. The dark tales of slicing whips and constructing chains, disgusting and borderline inhabitable living conditions. Being over worked and under paid, scarce food and brutal punishments, that the ones that didn't make the cut were tossed out along the street as the circus moved from city to city. Some of them were even alive as skin was shredded by asphalt, stumbling into towns or hospitals if they were lucky with blackened feet and blistering skin. But most of them were dead long before they hit the road.

Seungcheol knew what he had to do.

 _Seungkwan, age twelve,_ _2610_

Seungkwan watched in horror when the white van from their childhood nightmares pulled up into view,  anyone ever the age of twenty five got in while children of varying ages and species were carried out then dumped mercilessly onto the floor. Bones thudding as body after unconscious body bounced in the pavement, bruises of varying shades adorning their skin. He knew how it worked, Jihoon had explained that once you were old enough you got to leave but only if the ring master allowed you to do so. However to replace those leaving new recruits namely the terrified children were brought it.

Jihoon's voice boomed about the tent from beside him, declaring that he and Seungkwan would take care of the children this time before anyone else had the opportunity to so much as breathe after the ring master had finished speaking. They both remember how terrible it was to have nobody to explain anything, nobody to take care of you or show you how everything worked in the circus. How some of the eldest patrons would bully the children, and that if you fought back you would be killed or beaten right then and there. The memories of Maisy, the feisty cat hybrid that Jihoon had immediately taken under his wing, how she had laid there dead with her throat slit as the life spluttered out of her haunted Seungkwan to this day.

They wouldn't let it happen again, if these children were going to survive someone had to show they how everything truly worked around there, to help them find their place in all this madness. And they'd be damned if they lost anyone else to this ruthless game.

 _Jihoon, age fifteen,_ _2612_

Jihoon knew he was crying, he knew that there was little to no air actually getting into his lungs but he was numb to it all and no longer cared. Numb in a way that he couldn't feel his own body, instead all he could feel was the hands of men, their moist breath crawling over his skin and the searing pain in his lower region. The feeling of unknown substances clinging to his skin, his fur too, how matted it had become with semen from multiple men. The wads of money in his coat pockets weighing him down like a tonne of bricks and the drugs in his system alone were messing with his head enough. But the emotional and mental trauma that would kick in once they had worn off would be far worse than the chemicals.

But despite the roofie still being prominent in his body Jihoon could feel the crescendo of pain ever rising and building until his walk became a feeble and blind stumble, the start of bruises and open wounds around his wrists and ankles stung like hell, the scratches running along his back did too, and the searing heat literally inside his ass. Split open as if someone had forcibly ripped him in half and with each and every minuscule movement, even breathing, was tearing it open further millimetre by agonising millimetre. But that was essentially what they had done.

The last thing he remembered was his cheeks flushing and then fumbling out a "T-thank you Mister Ring Master, thank you Sir, but why am I here?" in the expensive limousine when said older male shoved a bubbling and sparkling drink into his hand, gently urging him to drink it all so he didn't spill any of the plush leather seats.

However from then on it was mostly hazy, Jihoon remembered being carried into a dimly lit motel room only because someone stood on his tail in the process. Somewhere between the weight of seemingly hundreds of hands pressing into his skin, and the first feel of someone pushing into his hole, he was tied down to the bed by chaffing, frayed ropes. He remembered being used over and over again, by at least a dozen men either in his ass or his mouth. He remembered screaming until his voice gave out as he slipped in and out of consciousness, kicking his legs out to buck and writhe, anything to try and get them to stop. But they never did.

His jaw ached painfully as he was pushed into the same car that had driven him here, the ring master grinning at him before he collapsed in the seat. Jihoon didn't pay attention to the hands rummaging around in his pockets in search of the cash, he was far too gone to put up any form of protest. After all, screaming for them to stop touching him had gotten him nowhere previously so why try again when it was evidently pointless.

"This half is mine. And this half is yours, I am terribly sorry about this my little Jihoonie but you see we hadn't met the quota in order for us to get to the next country. But I am pleasantly surprised that they payed this well, it must be because you're so cute, don't you think? I guess I'll have to cancel the little meeting I had scheduled next week as well, we have more than enough now."

As Jihoon stared at the money in his lap, it was about as thick as two of his fingers and if it was £50 notes -British money he remembered, and quite a high value note as well- the whole way through then he was well into the thousands already. Maybe, maybe there would be enough for a car here? Enough to rent an apartment for a few weeks in a nearby town? Maybe it was enough to pay the price for freedom, the money for food until he got another job, more clothes, medical treatment? But was it enough for both him and Seungkwan?

"...No." He whispered. "Don't cancel it, b-but for the next one, I'd like two thirds of the profit to cover medical treatment." His voice shook but his expression stayed firm as the ring leader looked at him in complete shock.

"You have yourself a deal there Jihoon, I definitely wasn't expecting this from you for sure."

"One more thing-"

"Jihoon I am not a kind or generous man and you are pushing your luck-"

"Drug me again. Make it stronger, it wore off by the time you were carrying me in."

The ring leader only laughed, the horrific cackling slicing across his skin and leaving him open and vulnerable. But it was for Seungkwan, it was for freedom. And Jihoon would do anything for that.

_Hansol, age seventeen, 2612_

Hansol stared down at the results in his hand before he let out a definitely manly scream when he saw all A's and A*'s in front of him, and looking over to Seungcheol who was grinning just as wildly he knew the other saw the same on his own results paper.

"We might actually do it, you know, get into the best college and go straight into the police academy if we get good enough grades. We could actually do it Hansol, I mean it." Seungcheol exclaimed, rounding the table to firstly squeeze the death out of his parents and then to wrap his arms around Hansol too.

"Hey hey calm down son, you've got to be accepted first!" Mrs Chwe exclaimed as all four adults burst out laughing.

"Um, our lowest grade is an A? Who is going to refuse us?!" Hansol countered with, the two teens now cackling wildly as their parent's jaws dropped in complete shock. Life was looking pretty damn good as of late, well, when had it ever looked rough for them in all honesty.

_Seungkwan, age sixteen, 2613_

Seungkwan felt panic rising in his chest as he watched Jihoon crumble to the floor in their now significantly larger trailer. It was the third time he had seen Jihoon like this, twice when they were around fifteen in England but now it was different. Now there were more bruises across his skin, marring his once beautiful and pale flesh. But it had only truly been flawless when they were small children, before callouses and scars began to form from performing so often, so now it just looked only slightly worse than normal.

What looked to be cigarette burns were etched deeply into the side of an exposed neck already looking angry and swollen, the rings around his wrists a deep red too. But maybe that was just from the blood sluggishly oozing out of his open wounds. His eyes didn't focus on him like last time and no matter how much Seungkwan screamed his name Jihoon didn't wake up which instantly set off alarm bells in his head. But there was more money than last year which possibly explained the more brutal injuries, it was wedged into the gap between Jihoon's clammy skin and the jeans adorning his lower half. It was a thick wad of €500 euro notes covered in blocky German writing. The purple notes seemingly blending in with the bruises forming around Jihoon's waist, looking similar to that of a hand print.

Seungkwan didn't know why or where Jihoon went, just that he came back a lifeless shell of who he once was and remained that way for about a month after these incidents. Knowing that he wouldn't get anything out of the smaller male no matter how much he begged the younger wordlessly dragged Jihoon into the bathroom. Never before had Jihoon been so hurt that he could not clean himself up, so this was a nerve wracking first for the now trembling bird hybrid. Eventfully he laid Jihoon out on the floor before stripping him down completely, getting a damp cloth and wiping off all the visible blood he could see. His hand froze, body numb as Seungkwan saw the splatters of cum across Jihoon's body, how blood was drying between his thighs once he jerkily removed the denim jeans. The blood in the Seungkwan's own veins turning to ice as it finally clicked what was happening.

He couldn't stop himself from wailing, air wheezing out of his throat in hiccups sobs as he cradled Jihoon close to him, wings draping over the unconscious boy as if they could somehow cradle and protect him from the fate he had chosen, or maybe been forced into. But he had a job to do, so with shaking hands he began cleaning all of Jihoon's wounds, wrapping never ending bandages around his battered body with the upmost care. Brushing his own tears off of the boy's skin furiously, not wanting to tarnish Jihoon any further.

He didn't even notice the arms wrapping around around his middle, one smoothing down his hair as Jihoon mumbled soothing words into his ear. And deep down it struck a cord that even now Seungkwan was having to be taken care of, even after Jihoon had been raped or whatever it was. Even now Seungkwan was the one being babied and fussed over. It made him sick to his stomach but he couldn't stop himself from being dragged into bed, his head burying itself in Jihoon's chest as he screamed his lungs out. So much that soon enough he exhausted himself and the last thing he saw was Jihoon's empty eyes staring down at him. The tears sluggishly trailing down his expressionless face, and it still haunted his dreams and thoughts even months later.

_Seungcheol, age eighteen, 2614_

"Haven't we been here before Cheol?" Hansol asked as he stared down at the pile of letters at his door, all from universities all over the country inviting and offering him a place. And as always he picked them all up and threw them in the bin.

"I know Hansol, but this is a big commitment, going into the force I mean, we might not even end up helping hybrids in any way? Is being in the police force even the best way to help them?" Seungcheol whined.

"We'll never know unless we find out Cheol, I don't know about you but I think we have to try." Hansol plopped down next to Seungcheol on the sofa and gave his best friend's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'd rather do this, and maybe regret it, than never do anything and have the what if's haunt me forever. Imagine how horrible it would be to have something like that plaguing your thoughts all day. It'd be unbearable. You know what I'm choosing Cheol, let's do this together."

_Jihoon, age eighteen, 2615_

Jihoon watched in horror as his and Seungkwan's trailer burned to the ground, smoke curling high in the air before it was carried away on the wind. But the flames were only spurred on further by the piercing flow of air, they seemed to jump even higher until the surrounding area glowed orange. Devouring what little remained of the only home they'd even known that much quicker. Numbly he stood there, trembling with the utter hopelessness of the entire situation and Seungkwan looked much the same. The ring master was there too, watching it all unfold with unrestrained glee and a wicked grin splitting his face grotesquely in half as he flicked the lighter open and closed over and over again.

"We can't have my two star acts leaving me early now can we? In fact, we can't have you leaving at all." He hissed, a manic look in his eyes as he skipped away, belly and other fat practically bursting and spilling through buttons and seams with each step, red coat tails fluttering as the maniac almost danced about. Looking much like a giddy child as he damn near vibrated with happiness, even squealing with glee when Jihoon finally crumbled to the ground. A vacancy in his eyes that Seungkwan had only seen three times back in a whole new chilling way. Arms hanging limply by his sides, the backs of shaking hands scraping along the charred earth with their jarred movements. Tears carving paths through the soot stained skin.

"You can never leave me Jihoon! Never! I'm going to keep you like a little pet forever! Yes like a pet like a good kitty, good kitty good kitty!" He warbled, voice rising and falling in pitch randomly. "Forever kitty, my forever kitty" Chain you up, up up so tight, so tight, and I'll put dear Kwannie that you've tried so hard to protect in a little cage too where he can sing to me for the rest of his life until you both fade away into nothing!" The ring master sang as he abruptly darted forwards on unsteady legs; body swaying precariously from side to side as he spoke before licking Jihoon tears away in a long stripe. Fat hands adorned by chunky rings clapping together when the silver haired male vomited all over the floor, bile dripping from his lips when Jihoon finally raised his head to see flames licking around them all.

_Hansol, age twenty, 2615_

"Kid we've never had anyone as bright as you two want to do something so god damned weird! The hybrid protection? The hybrid association! What did you just call it?"

"Well, um, Deputy Chief Myung-Soo, I believe I called it the hybrid protection association?" Hansol's voice wavered as he spoke but when Seungcheol squeezed his leg under the table he knew they were going to be okay. He just needed to keep it together and hold his nerve for just a little longer.

"And what exactly will this association do?" He levelled with them, not desiring to waste any time.

"Well, okay, can I speak informally Sir? I'm just going to speak informally, I mean we've all grown up knowing about hybrids right? We have groups of people to help fight fires, people to deal with hostage situations, to deal with foreign people, to deal with drug busts, you name it. Yet we don't have a single unit specialised to help the people that make up about a third of the population, uh Sir. They aren't a minority any more, they aren't just a random genetic mutation, and they need our help. Imagine if it was humans that were being used as slaves, sold into sex rings, and culled down like the supposed beasts they are, if it was a human we'd be up in arms in an instant."

"Kid listen, I can see your point believe me I can, it makes me sick half the things those people have to deal with but it's just two of you! The two of you can't save the world!"

"It's not just two of us Sir." Seungcheol stated. "We've got, from lack of better words 'comrades' all over the world, I know it won't seem like that much to you but me and Hansol run our own website with thousands of members on it. I probably shouldn't tell you, but the group that stopped the fox hybrid culling in England? The organisation that works to get falsely accused hybrids out of jail, the clan that is responsible for helping put hunters behind bars? They don't like work for us, but they are all members. Yes it's a given that there are only two of us in the room, but I know of another dozen in the academy that feel the same way as us. And all of us together might just be enough for a start-up operation of sorts in Seoul to start out with? We could start off by being based in the precinct already there, and if we get enough foot traffic I mean if we're even needed then we can go from there." Seungcheol was breathless by the time he had finished practically ranting, but he broke out into a smile when he saw the Deputy Chief nodding along with him.

"I know you two are smart kids, and some damn good Officers, some of the finest trainees we've had in a very long time too. So why don't you finish all 22 weeks of your training, get some real world experience in a station, and while you do that I'll begin to have words with the board about dividing off a small branch of officers as a trial, I imagine you two wouldn't have any control over it at all but it's be a start. Let me tell you now that this will be anything but easy to get them to part with their money and resources but if they do I promise I'll be backing you the whole way, and I know a hell of a lot of other Commanding Officers that will as well. Now why don't you show me this fancy website of yours and show me how I can sign up?" He grumbled out wearily, regretfully almost.

"Sir yes Sir!"  
  
_Seungkwan, age twenty-two, 6 months ago_

"You'll never guess what my babies! We've landed a massive tour in Asia! We're going to be there for around a year!" The ring master screamed, spinning dangerously along one of the low hanging beams used in Jihoon's performances. "It'll be magnificent! Jihoon you'll love it! It is where we picked you up off of the streets from after all, with Seungkwan too of course, it'll be almost like you're going home, but with no family to return too it can't really be home can it! No home no home!" Cackling as he spoke the obese male then launched himself to the floor to place his hands either side of Jihoon's face and squeeze his cheeks together before running his fingers over Seungkwan wings.

"You two are my favourites you know, fuck the veterans, nobody even comes close to you in talent, or your ability to just draw the crowd in, therefore the money in like a magnet! And I love money, yes money! You two are like my sons, and I promise you Jihoon if you keep bringing money in in Asia you'll never have to spend another night in a motel again."

Seungkwan's skin crawled from the lecherous grin on the burly man's face and he briefly wondered if the ring master himself had been part of the crowd that defiled his best friend. But just like usual he bit his tongue and kept quiet, both of them did.

"You two don't have to worry about a single thing anymore, as long as you never leave my side!"

It felt as if chains had literally been clamped over his wrists, weighing him down into the depths of hell as icy flames licked up his spine in the form of a wave of chills. Tears settled themselves in the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, instead he forced Jihoon to bow deeply at the waist, slipped his hand into the other's and dragged them both outside. Feebly hoping that he would be able to breath once he was in open air but Seungkwan still couldn't, the chains had wrapped around his lungs too and were slowly getting tighter and tighter. Jihoon's expression of pain mirrored his own.

"One day we'll be free Jihoon, one day I'm going to fly us both out of here. I'm going to stop singing and start flying, put these wings to good use." Seungkwan wheezed as he began flapping his wings, once bird hybrids got older if they didn't maintain a strict work out regime they soon lost the ability to truly fly. Sure Seungkwan could launch himself up into the air and he'd be alright for a minute or two but sustained flying was just something he wasn't strong enough to do anymore. Rather he was too heavy for it. But even with the lazy beats of his wings that he sort of half leapt and half flew up into the air with he still felt the same childish giddiness that always overtook him when he was air borne, and just like they had when they were children Jihoon bounded along the ground after him. Their laughter tinkling around the open field for the first time in years.

 _Seungcheol, age twenty-_ _four_ _, 6 months ago_

"I never thought I'd see it kid, you shaking hands with the damn mayor! The mayor! The actual mayor! I still remember you fumbling over your words in my office, and how you cried like a little kid when you passed your sixth month evaluation to allow you to keep the operation running. And how proud you were when you made you first proper arrest, and oh oh- and when uh- and when you busted your biggest case to date too! You've just come so far kid and I know how hard it's been."

"Hard is an understatement." Seungcheol spat out but his grin never faltered, both his body and mind were completely exhausted and they had been for practically the past full year. It had been a very long process for Deputy Chief Myung-Soo to get them to where they were today, not that many other Senior Officers didn't aid them in their journey as well. It was 2617 when they were first allowed to run a sort of trial operation within Seoul's existing police station which ended up being albeit slow starting but still a success all the same. That programme ran pretty smoothly for around six or seven months, and based on their success there was even talk of opening up a few more departments within other stations to do the exact same thing. However there were some complaints among the hybrid community itself of why they only deserved one small room at the far back of the station. Initially the department hadn't been that active but once hybrids realised it was genuine and filled with people who wanted to fight for them it soon became much much busier. Not that they were happy about the sheer volume of hate crimes and such being committed against hybrids but it was a relief to be trusted and accepted into the community as someone who would help them. So it was late 2618 when the decision was made to open up an entirely new station as the higher-ups did not want to lose the faith Seungcheol and his team had gained and to cause some public scandal of them mistreating hybrids.

In reality they were still understaffed, especially on the night shift however it was a genuinely nice environment to work in; every single one of their colleges was there because they wanted to be. Everyone shared the exact same mindset of wanting to help hybrids despite all the challenges they faced everyday. So in the end it was worth it. The sheer amount of support they got from varying clans of hybrids within a single year was astounding. The twin sister sun bears that would drop of some sort of baked treat once a week in thanks of reuniting them when one of them was kidnapped and bound for the slave ring. And others were more than willing to help in tracking down criminals -namely the dog breeds, and providing muscle when necessary. Hell they had even recruited a few of them after a long battle with the Chief that it would not be a conflict of interest for them.

It had been so incredibly exhausting all year but they didn't have a moment to waste, hybrids still needed them. A some a lot more than others as Seungcheol eyed up their latest case file that had been dropped off for them to look into.  **Massimiliano's Travelling Chimeras, a world famous hybrid circus bringing your fantasies to life!** Judging by how fat the folder was, it wasn't looking like an easy case, or an easy life for any hybrid trapped in that circus.

-

Word Count: 10396 words 

 


	2. Performances

_*_

_No, my dear, that is not gold, do not be so easily sold._ _What you see can be silver, amethyst, or rose._ _It could be a fairy tale written in beautiful prose._ _But it could even not be what you see, a being in disguise hiding behind a thin veil of lies._ _So no, my dear, that is not gold._ _Do not be so easily sold._

*

Seungkwan gazed out of the window, the side of his head pressing against the cool glass causing vibrations to flow through his skull. It was making the headphones sit weirdly in his ears but he daren't raise a hand to adjust it and wiggle it until it went back in. Choosing instead to focus on the blur between brick work and shrubbery, and how the parked cars all morphed into one long stream of colour as they flickered between the gaps in buildings. It reminded him of when kiddy magicians would pull that great length of fabric from seemingly nowhere, like from a closed fist or out of their mouths. Of course now he knew it was an illusion, that everything about it was fake. Just like with a real circus too. Only hiding in this illusion is what had kept them alive for so long. But it was best not to dwell on thoughts such as that. There were more important things to occupy himself with as he began humming one of their new songs along to the instrumental playing in his ears. Quietly of course because Jihoon was fast asleep, leaning against Seungkwan's shoulder with bruised knees pulled up to his chest that was clad in a ratty, over sized shirt. Thankfully Jihoon didn't snore so nobody else in the coach minded him catching up on well earned rest because everyone collectively knew that Jihoon was not just slacking off and being lazy, everyone knew how hard the hybrid worked to get the best life for them all. Most of them even tried to deliberately keep quite and scold those who started talking or rummaging about in their bags.

After all, now that there were very few veterans left, most of the members of the circus were children that Jihoon and Seungkwan had essentially raised. All of them either saw them both as parenting figures or just as an elder sibling but nonetheless Jihoon was considered family to almost every person sat in the boiling hot confines of the too small coach. Everyone knew how much Jihoon did for them, all the routines he helped them learn, all the tricks and little hacks, learning lyrics and phrases in multiple languages, and on top of that nursing their wounds and feeding them something somewhat substantial every night. Seungkwan on the other hand was in charge of doing their makeup, helping them with stage costumes, and piecing together routines so they had a sense of fluidity to them; occasionally he helped out with changing bandages as well. Though the last time he tried to cook he accidentally sent someone straight to the toilet due to an allergy that in his defense he had no knowledge of, and if he turned around it was guaranteed that Michelle would still glare at him even though it happened months ago.

The troop had landed and quickly escaped off the aeroplane about two hours ago and had been on a train ever since, every member aside the ring master and the 'other' veterans a.k.a the ring master's little puppets had been forced to share a single coach of the train as their equipment and luggage took up so much room. They'd been sweltering in the crowded cage from that point on but they daren't open any windows, not when there were at least three people confirmed to be going through their heats and they really did not want to attract either any wild animals or any feral hybrids. Not that there was that many of either in Seoul, it was a relatively safe country compared to the dark alley ways they had slept in while touring in Mexico.

Some random Korean language guide was now rabbiting on in his ear but thankfully he recognised most of it, after all Jihoon and he had both been raised in that tongue and had still spoken it as children when they were just stage hands. They had only switched to other languages -predominantly English- when they began performing so they could interact with the audience more as the ring master demanded of them. Seungkwan quite liked the Korean language, it had a nice sound to it. With it's abundance of vowels and general lilt to the ending of most words it sounded very pleasant and gentle on the ear. But there was every possibility that that was only due to the soft spoken language instructor teaching him. His mind briefly flashed back to some half memory of being scolded in Korean by someone that he could only assume was either his mother or older sister as the voice definitely sounded feminine, angry but feminine. It was one of those memories where he couldn't quite tell if it was real or just a memory. However if it was real then it must have been from back when Seungkwan was still a child and he couldn't help but shudder at how aggressive and harsh it could potentially sound.

But it seems that he should have tried harder, that shudder alone jostled Jihoon enough for him to stir. Eyelids opening to reveal the oceans beneath, the slits he possessed for pupils dilated to adjust to the dim light in the carriage now that the carriage was passing under dense woodland and bridges. It seemed they were leaving whatever town they had been near and were continuing onward.

"How long did you let me sleep for? How is Cele? Did you remind her to take her meds? Kenai got a window seat didn't he, I don't want him to overheat again." Jihoon slurred, righting himself and sitting up straight, wincing as he twisted his body to eye the two hybrids in question. Revealing a deep ache between the hills of his rib cage that he knew would get him later unless he stretched soon.  Cele, well Celestina was a mix between two dogs of which she didn't know herself, they had picked her up three years ago when she was about nine in Italy. She somewhat wanted to join a circus because if Jihoon was remembering correctly she was in fact homeless at the time. Kenai on the other hand was slightly older and was a late bloomer, sitting sweet at sixteen the deer hybrid had come running to Jihoon when the small antlers adorning his head had first broken through his skin. It was a painful process for Jihoon to even look at and then even worse to bandage every week as they grew.

"We're fine Ji, go back to sleep, the ring master has extended your time slot by another half hour to cover something or someone, you're gonna need the rest." Cele ordered in a stern voice, jabbing a finger in Jihoon's direction and making eyes at Seungkwan who nodded and spun the snow leopard back around and pressed him into his side once more. More than a few audible sighs of relief could be heard when Jihoon reluctantly settled and soon fell back asleep.

*

"There's no way we can handle this case! Why didn't the branch in America handle it when they were touring over there?!" Hansol cried, looking towards Seungcheol for support. Unfortunately Seungcheol was looking rather sheepish with a small grin on his face, and that was enough for Hansol to know that the idiot was actually considering it.

"You've done such a good job in a single year that honestly you're only getting very minor cases as of late, nothing that requires more than a single officer. And you don't have a choice, any major cases I'm transferring to the guys in Suwon. There is no one that I'd trust more with a case as delicate as this." The Deputy Chief of police barked out, practically giving them a direct order and leaving them with no other choice but to accept. Deputy Chief Myung-Soo was essentially their boss after all, but only sort of.

The Deputy Chief was in charge of the area their precinct resided in, therefore making them his responsibility to oversee and instruct as it would essentially reflect negatively on him if something went wrong. Especially considering how much the Deputy Chief had fought for them to be here, obviously it was not a decision taken lightly or made quickly. Seungcheol was their Lieutenant of sorts, meaning he essentially oversaw their entire station and commanded it as such. He may not have earned all his bars yet to become the Captain and have actual full control but the older male was designated to be in charge of their more active operations. In the beginning the higher ups had dubbed him the leading or supervising agent, but after a few years of hard work when they unit eventually moved to have their own station they changed their tune. However he doubted that Seungcheol would ever want to actually be Captain; the older male was unable to step back from the action and could never stop himself from diving straight into whatever problem any hybrid walked into the door with. Then came Hansol who was a rank below Seungcheol as one of the station's Sergeants, and it was his responsibility to oversee all those involved in whatever work shift he was placed on. Different Sergeants worked on the day and night shifts, same with the Lieutenants, it was just so lucky that they were on the day shift. Not that that was when they actually worked however, it was no use in trying to keep the two of them away from their desks when they were stuck into a case. Namely the huge ones, like this one, sitting innocuously in an open file in Hansol's lap.

Continuing on with his original point Hansol protested once more "How the hell are we supposed to bring down the biggest and most famous hybrid circus in the entire world without the public finding out?! And how are we supposed to get evidence anyways?" He fiddled with the scratchy material of his cheap tie, hands desperate to be moving or else he'd probably start pacing.

It was the Deputy Chief who responded from where he was stood in the corner of the room, leaning with his arm resting atop a file cabinet, "They have a tour here in Asia, they'll be here for about a year give or take and their first stop is in Seoul. They'll be here for about three months if they stick to their website details. You two will have tickets as the leading agents and the only ones with experience going undercover. It'll be uh, those special-" He paused to snap his fingers about in the air, desperately trying to remember the word. "-Ah! Those VIP type ones, where you'll be sat in those private booths and you'll be going to every single show to watch and observe and attempt to gain access to the backstage areas through any means, ideally by befriending the performers or if that fails through infiltrating a hybrid fetish ring that the Ring Master is allegedly associated with. Truthfully, we'd like you to lead with the first option, and if that doesn't work we shall reconvene and decide how to plant you into that organisation. Essentially two other agents will follow you in and they'll replace you in the booth so the staff don't suspect anything while you two gain access to the back stage and assess the situation. Whether you act as fans or possibly even reveal who you really are, I mean once you've tested the waters with the performers, but yeah it's up to you whether you think they'd react positively to you or not however I trust you understand the importance of this operation." Deputy Chief Myung-Soo advised, walking over to Seungcheol's desk and dumping a large cardboard box filled with all kinds of newspaper articles and documents about previous lawsuits filed against the circus.

"Sir I'm sorry-" Hansol attempted to interject but he was quickly cut off.

"We accept!" Seungcheol practically burst out with, leaning forwards to drag the box across his desk before standing rather abruptly, sending his chair flying backwards as he began lifting pile after pile of files out of said box. Spreading them out and completely ignoring the way Hansol was looking at him in complete shock. "We'll take on this case, I'm assuming more details of the operation and team are enclosed within so I will phone your assistant if we have any queries. I'm speaking as the primary agent right now so there will be no protests from you Hansol. Thank you Deputy Chief we would be honoured to accept this case."

"Understood Lieutenant, I knew I could count on you. I'll be taking my leave now."

"Sir yes Sir!" They both chorused, standing and saluting. Only lowering their arms and their bodies into their desk chairs when they were sure the Deputy Chief had left.

"Seungcheol I'm actually going to kill you! I know we don't have any open cases at the minute but that doesn't mean you can take on a new one bigger and more complicated than all our closed cases combined!" Hansol screamed, leaning over the desk with arms extended more than ready to strangle the life out of his best friend.

"Look Han I know it's a big case, it's a giant case, but you know we have to at least try! We started this whole thing to help hybrids and we can't go back on our word now, like even if we fail and don't get enough evidence at least we can say we tried to save them and pass on the case to the next country they're touring in. Just like imagine if all the rumours about this circus were true for this one though Hansol, they've been through so much, we owe it to them to try." Seungcheol spoke gravely, leveling with Hansol completely and he left no room for arguments.

Hands flew upwards to tug at his hair, "I know Cheol but this will be so difficult and I don't-"

"Plus imagine everything that we'd get to see, we never get to be this involved in a case- I mean obviously this is like a major major case and we can't take this lightly but before I ever caught wind of what goes on behind closed doors I used to love this circus, I think we both did. It's the one with uh, god, there's Angel, the songbird guy and fuck me he lives up to his name, they've got mermaids and snake hybrids, like they've managed to collect and bring to light some of the rarest hybrids around. Oh they've got a snow leopard too but his stage name is something odd, its to do with him being up high all the time, makes you dizzy or something so he's called Dizzy or Woozi I think."

"Oh god I think yo're right, I remember you following all the Instagram accounts and twitter pages, you really loved that Woozi guy and I mean you're right again he is amazing but we've gotta keep our cool Cheol." Hansol was attempting to reason with the older male but it was of no use, he was already pulling up those accounts on his phone in the name of alleged 'research'. "Detective Jeonghan please come in here! You're the only one that's actually good with hybrids here so can you do me a favour and calm this puppy down?!" Hansol yelled in frustration, turning his head to shout over his shoulder hopefully in the direction of the man in question.

Jeonghan was one of the other Officers in their station, famous for his uncanny ability to talk to any hybrid that walked through the door, no matter it's species or opinion on humans as the second Jeonghan appeared they would instantly soften. Seungcheol however knew exactly how much of an evil little shit he could be after working with him at his first station, especially if he had any gossip or found out any dirty secrets about you. But he wouldn't do anything to Seungcheol, didn't even spread it around when he found a picture online of Seungcheol completely hammered and wearing a hot pink bra, simply because he had caught him and fellow Detective Jisoo making out in the staff room.

Like most work environments you weren't really allowed to date a coworker but they were both close friends of his and Seungcheol had always seen the chemistry, forever having to cut through the sexual tension between them. Even when they were at the police academy anyone could see that they had the serious hots for each other, and it hadn't really amounted to anything until Jisoo went away on a training course for about two months and came back according to Jeonghan 'buff as hell'. Supposedly causing Jeonghan to be unable to contain himself any longer and he then promptly jumped Jisoo's bones like a horny teen. Everyone had practically vomited at the way Jeonghan quite openly flirted with the other who remained completely oblivious to it all. And by about three months of it everybody was just as frustrated as Jeonghan was.

Seungcheol did try to tell them that work came first and that Jeonghan needed to do his job of managing hybrid relations and Jisoo to focus on his cases, however when they finally got together and failed miserably to hide it the captain couldn't deny both how relieved and happy he was. Hansol just enjoyed catching them at their office parties or at a celebratory drinks night, hands everywhere and shirts crinkled, he'd always manage to snap a quick picture and blackmail something out of them both.

"I'm afraid not even I can help you with this one Sergeant, he's a total lost cause- oh, oh now this looks interesting..." Curious hands reaching for the files atop the Lieutenants desk.

*

Their arrival had been a fiasco in itself as some of the luggage was lost and stage equipment deliberately grouped together had been jumbled about as well. And to top it all off they were to have a show that very next day. The initial touchdown of their weary bodies on the venue grounds occurred at around midday and it was a shock to say the least. It was easily the largest venue they would ever perform in, it was no Jamsil Stadium obviously but when the existing concert hall already there was combined with the total allotted land to set up all their stands and tents it must have been about the same size if not bigger. The trucks and venue staff had already beaten them there by two or three days and were still in the process of setting up the circus alongside securing the structural equipment that performers like Jihoon would be using. But by far the most surprising thing was the fact that they actually had dressing rooms. Actual dressing rooms! Not like one each or anything, nothing as crazy as that but god was it a step up from what they were collectively used to. And truthfully it did take quite a bit of getting used to, even days later on the night of their first performance the entire thing still didn't seem real.

It was just under an hour before their debut stage now, and the crowds were slowly starting to trickle in already. Usually when they were working smaller venues they'd pretty much keep everyone outside until it was about ten minutes away from curtain call but tonight with the sheer volume of people attending it was much safer to trickle them in section by section. Plus it also reduced the whole 'they  **stole** my seat, I payed so much money to get that seat!' 'no you're in  **my** chair!' trope that would undoubtedly unfold. But given the amount of security present the performers doubted anything serious would come of it. The VIP's however had already been there for close to fourty minutes. As it was all supposedly part of the experience for them to witness the stages being fully erected, the music, microphone, and lighting tests, and to see all the hard work and individual pieces coming together like a big puzzle. It also allowed them to roam somewhat freely and chat with any technicians or stage hands, even occasionally talk to some of the performers wandering around in various stages of their costumes and makeup or the cheeky shits making last minute adjustments with the performance staff.

Typically those in the VIP sections were either rich families, the ring master's friends, or creeps who fetishised their entire existence. But the line between the last two candidates often blurred quite heavily. Although, the two men sat in the private box closest to the stage on the left hand side were giving Seungkwan the creeps far more than any pervert did. They looked far too normal, like suspiciously normal, at least with the others you could always tell what category they fell into. The super rich had an air about them no matter what, some of them could be the nicest people you'd ever met despite the big name brands they adorned themselves with while the others really fit into that stereotype of snobby pricks. Regarding the creeps it was just all about how they watched the performers because they didn't just watch, they  _watched_.Their eyes would follow their favourite performer non-stop and deliberately stare at the more inappropriate places, plus they'd always be the ones caught taking photos and recording no matter how many times security told them off. Occasionally there were just genuine super fans in those VIP boxes, not necessarily there for the slightly better view it provided but more for the after show perks that came with the ticket. The fetishist ones always got weird during those meet and greet-esqe events once the show was over too.

However, these two looked relatively normal, and normal people didn't spend hundreds on a VIP ticket each just for funsies. The men looked around Seungkwan's age, maybe a few years his senior if anything. Both seemed relatively clean cut at first glance wearing slacks and a button down, paired with an air of classic handsomeness and charming smiles.  _Maybe business men?_  Seungkwan thought as he continued staring from behind the stage curtain where Jihoon and himself had previously been conversing with a stage hand to go over the final music set list for their performances. Business men would typically lean more towards the creepy end of the spectrum however the two men seemed to just be joking around with each other and not obsessively seeking out any hybrid they could catch a glimpse of. It was almost irritating when the creepy ones were this handsome, especially the taller of the two. Obviously on every level Seungkwan knew that no matter how attractive someone was and unwanted advance or dirty comment was never acceptable, but that didn't mean that he didn't blush it if was coming from someone who looked just like his type. And the taller of that pair seemed exactly that, with those big broad shoulders and that hair just on the shy side of being too long but god did he make it work. Seungkwan was really enjoying evaluating this new prospect for him right up until said male turned to stare directly at him, how the other even felt his stare was baffling, let alone then pinpointing where Seungkwan was amidst the shadows of the offstage section. So with cheeks flaming he retreated further into the darkness, perching atop one of the sturdy equipment boxes while Jihoon just looked at him curiously.

"Okay, like, don't make it obvious, but the guys in that VIP booth are kinda cute, but like too normal? I can't figure out what their deal is and they may have just caught me staring at them- I said don't make it obvious!" Seungkwan would vehemently deny to any living soul that he literally squawked out that last part, really he would.

The venue in general was huge, there was one large stadium in the center and the surrounding grounds would be filled with the more stereotypical high top tents for the smaller, less famous acts to perform in. Essentially it was just done to get more money, people would pay for tickets to gain access to the stadium to see the hybrids seen on the big posters such as Jihoon for example, and people that didn't want to pay as much perhaps could pay a smaller entry fee for the high top tents. Plus it meant that Jihoon and the other 'chosen ones' got much more stage time as now the Ring Master didn't have to worry about finding time to make sure everyone was involved, which therefore meant ticket prices could increase too. The man might be the devil incarnated but he was a smart business man. The main building comprised of a circular stage raised by about a meter off the ground with a four maybe five meter gap between the stage and the audience seating area. In that gap some 'lower tier' hybrids would perform when the curtains briefly closed to allow for the minor adjustments made to the stage between acts to occur, and the large metal beams and structures used for Jihoon's high beam act  or the snake trios silk act were secured into the ground. Then came a near 360 degree seating area for the audience, maybe a 240-260 degree to be more specific and it went up dozens and dozens of rows before it hit the back wall. The VIP boxes were about 35 feet of the ground, placed at the perfect height to get a great view of both the floor work and aerial work, and ten in total followed the edges of the venue walls.

But for Jihoon's eyesight honing in on the men in question was a piece of cake, and he did so immediately as he slunk out of the side of the half drawn curtain. Careful to remain somewhat in the shadows for fear of Seungkwan's flailing smacks that would surely greet him when he returned to the other side. Sometimes he really was thankful for what the stupid anti-hybrid idiots would deem his unnatural and devil like animal abilities as right now it was allowing him to see if Seungkwan was actually telling the truth for once. Mainly because lately everyone was cute to the other, probably some bullshit hybrid biology clock or something. That's the one animal trait he wished hybrids didn't have, but thankfully Seungkwan didn't suffer heats like Jihoon did and as he wasn't suffering from one right that second those men should have no affect on him. Absolutely no effect whatsoever.

_Well, fuck me._

Jihoon could smell him, like actually smell him clear as day and it was full on teenage movie style making his knees weak. But even without that factor Jihoon knew he would have been feeling some type of way by looking at the other, the word handsome could never do that stranger justice. At the minute those does eyes were crinkling with laughter and plump lips stretched into a beaming smile at what Jihoon was hoping was just a friend. But the illusion of cuteness was shattered when he saw the maroon fabric of the man's shirt stretching tightly over a broad chest consisting of solid muscle, same with the black slacks over thick thighs. Fluffy black hair was shifting in the breeze of an air conditioning unit and it was really beginning to feel like some movie scene. Suddenly he was the nerdy unpopular boy gazing lovingly at the heart throb jock who would not even spare him a glance, just standing so far out of his reach with an easy smile that he could only just about see the side profile of due to a half turned back. And then the spell was broken by Seungkwan clattering about behind him.

"What's taking so long! You were supposed to be subtle! Subtle!" The fellow hybrid hissed as nothing but a head appeared under the hem of the thick velvet show curtain.

"Hey I was being subtle! They haven't even noticed me yet!"

"Are you sure about that Jihoon?" Seungkwan asked wearily with a nervous flutter of his wings that sent ripples through the curtain. "I think you've been caught red handed." He retreated back and the head disappeared mere seconds after he spoke with a panicked squeak.

Immediately spinning on his heel Jihoon realised his mistake when soft brown eyes greeted him. Meaning that Seungkwan was annoyingly correct. But the biggest shock however was that Jihoon hadn't even noticed it. He hadn't heard the footsteps of anything, and his back was only turned for a few seconds. The other had now moved into the corner of the booth closest to Jihoon, his forearms resting on the railing as he learnt forward with a timid smile and a shy wave. It was met only with a glare and flushed cheeks before Jihoon too turned tail and retreated around the back with Seungkwan. Curiosity following him with every step.

However they didn't get to retreat into their dressing room for very long. All the performers were soon called back to the main stage one last time in groups. Just to double check their staging and equipment was in the right place and that they knew their timings and music. So while Seungkwan was happy to continually steal glances Jihoon kept his eyes glued on the task at hand. Which in itself did require a lot of focus so he did have an excuse as to why he was pointedly avoiding looking at the other male in that booth.

Thankfully their usual crew had been in and set everything up for the aerial acts so Jihoon's equipment was in the perfect order. This time it was a line of wooden beams suspended by metal wires and were situated at around two or three meters apart. The beams themselves all varied in length and thickness as some were designed to mimic a balance beam that he would walk on whereas others were like uneven gymnastics bars. To the normal person it would appear that the beams were in a totally random order but it was so incredibly deliberate. Jihoon knew exactly what direction he'd flow in as it was a rehearsed routine therefore each beam had to be in the perfect place down to a mere inch. Seungkwan's set up was much much simpler, his was merely a large metal hoop that hung a good four meters or so below Jihoon's level. That was where he'd perch and sing his heart out, and that was pretty much all he had to worry about.

Their sort of level was about twenty meters of the ground, and even further above them at about fourty to fifty odd meters came the structures for the high wire acts and the trapeze acts. The floor however was empty besides the multitude of tanks for the merfolk which were being filled at that very moment as they were the opening act tonight. The tanks were made of a thick plastic that slotted together with ease and there was three on either side of the stage as the Ring Master would be on his platform in the middle. They would leap into action as the Ring Master greeted the audience, gliding through the water before propelling themselves upwards to leap through hoops dangling above them. Noelei was the best at flipping whilst in the air whereas Iatae and Callaciane on the other hand were incredibly synchronised either each other. But generally all six merfolk were simply mesmerising because of their tails, and it was simply magical to watch it transform from human legs once they were fully submerged.

At some point once their tanks had been cleared away the other members would begin to file out. Those groups mostly did floor work so thankfully no set up was really needed. Firstly it would be the large troop of tumblers and the trio of jugglers that would generally lark about and bring the audience down from the adrenaline high from the previous act. The tumblers would actually break out into a pre-choreographed routine filled will somersaults and chains of hand springs as they flew over each other, seemingly skimming the person below them with just a sliver to spare. They would finish in an human pyramid only in reverse, there was only one person at the bottom and five on the very top layer. Jihoon had no idea how Arlo did it but he though it best not to question a man of that strength. He was a bear hybrid through and through after all.

The tension in the room would immediately be driven back up to a breaking point by the knife throwing acts. The act consisted of a few goat hybrids and two owl hybrids, doing just as their name suggested and throwing knives at whoever the ring master plucked from the audience. Afterwards two of the veterans would come out wielding much larger knives, swords even, and they would have a mock battle filled with clashing metal and war cries. The deep and resonating thrum of drums filling the arena. Not to let the tension drop for a mere second the flame throwers came out next yet again fulfilling their job description with a distinct and undeniable level of power and immense control, and ballerinas would dance about within the fire, the edges of their costumes intentionally catching on fire so that a trail of smoke floated after them and curled around their flowing bodies.

Next came some kind of irritatingly memorable and sweet event. The Ring Master would summon a 'random' terrified and uncomfortable child to center stage with all spot lights on the poor child. He'd then swoop in to help the child conquer their fear of whatever it was with practised ease. Little did the crowd know that he picked the kid out beforehand and paid the parents off. It was a circus after all, the reality was always different than what people saw.

After the 'random' child was ushered back into their seat contortionists would claim the stage.  
Much like Jihoon's set up, the three snake hybrids had suspended platforms. But instead of being suspended in a straight line, they were still horizontal but in an almost pyramid shape at varying levels. The spotlight would focus on them and they would be wound together at the top in a knot of limbs before they would slink down to other platforms at different levels. There they would do their thing for about half and hour, bending their bodies in such a way that to most it looked impossible but to Jihoon they looked ordinary. After all he could do half of them himself.

But their real show got started when three lengths of material cascaded down from above, the rich silky looking fabric gleaming with a pearly sheen in the light. The hybrids would wrap themselves in the fabric and alternate between climbing up it, rolling their bodies downwards until they nearly hit the floor, or wrapping it around their thighs or arms and clamping down to hold themselves still. They would hover in a painful looking almost yoga style poses, backs arched and toes pointed with forced smiles on their faces. Often switching between the fabrics and swinging from one to the other, purposely faking falling to keep the crowd on edge.

And then finally came Jihoon and Seungkwan, or Woozi and Angel as they were better known. Mostly they did separate shows entirely, however they occasionally crossed over and there was always a few moments where either one of them was warming up where they would occupy the same stage. Seungkwan mainly just sung and floated about, sure he danced along with the others in the ending number but singing was his true art. Be it in a cage, nestled into a hollowed out large metal ball, or balancing precariously on a thin metal hoop. On very rare occasions he was attached to a wire from above and would be allowed to fly about as he sung, either that or when he was assigned to sing in a large group where he would run up and down the isles separating the rows and rows of seats.

Jihoon however did a bit of everything. But mainly his job was just to look like he was about to die ninety percent of the time. Tasked with the most difficult trapeze acts where he only prayed his partner was quick enough to catch him and throw him into his next flip or spin. The hardest high wire and tight wire sequences were assigned to him as well. He was a fairly decent contortionist, an alright shot with a knife, and unlike most cats he wasn't afraid of the water. However last time he tried anything with fire his tail got singed and therefore could never bring himself to try it again.

But 'Woozi's' most popular act was one where about two dozen wooden beams were hung horizontally from the ceiling, all of different lengths and thickness, and placed varying lengths apart. On the much thinner beams where he could actually get almost his entire hand around he would treat it like a gymnastic bar or an uneven gymnastic bar if two of them were close enough. He would swing his body round and round the beam with pointed toes, pausing at the top in some sort of handstand, sometimes spreading his legs into a split, or to hop from hand to hand before swooping back down again to complete the repetitive circular motion. If it had been positioned where he had two thin beams opposite each other he would latch on to one bar and swing himself round and round to gain momentum before letting go, performing flips at the highest point and then continuing on until his palms smacked the wood of the other beam.

Whereas with the thicker ones all he could do was walk or run across them, doing handstands or cartwheels, front and back facing hand springs. Performing all of this while the Ring Master sometimes narrated his every move or made little comments of praise, the deep bass of whatever song was playing beat seemingly in time with his own heart, and often while the crowd watched in horror. It was all done while trying not to fall and die after all. As he was a cat hybrid, especially with his incredibly long tail it was obvious that he had insane balance and grip in his albeit small hands and feet, as well as immense power in muscular legs. Because of that he was not allowed to have a harness, although a net did hang below him. But this time Jihoon would be performing with Seungkwan for at least a solid half of his to shine. The bird hybrid was supposed to swoop under and above him while he flew from beam to beam, all while singing his heart out. And at some point they were supposed to act like the public perceived them, as dumb animals. So Jihoon was told to chase after Seungkwan like a, well, like a cat chasing a bird.

However that was only if the show went off without a hitch and followed the plan perfectly. But truthfully, when did that ever happen.

*

Looking in the wall length mirror Jihoon decided that his new costume was one of his favourites. It consisted solely of black spandex looking shorts that clung to his thick, muscular thighs, even as they rippled with every minuscule movement made while performing. His top half was completely bare showcasing a perfectly flat and toned stomach, not that he'd ever get past the 'skinny pack' phase because he just wasn't fed enough to build that kind of muscle. The same black material spanned about two inch bands around thin wrists and bony ankles too, but the band adorning his neck like a choker also had a large rhinestone hanging off of it in a shade so brilliantly blue it glowed. Similar blue gems were literally glued to his skin, on the backs of his hands and the tops of his bare feet, covering a large portion of his chest too as the followed the line of his collar bones from shoulder to shoulder before trickling downwards like an elaborate necklace. Eventually smaller versions would be adhered to his face as well, one in the center of his bottom lip and the others following the natural slant of his eyes in and almost horizontal diamond shape. Every piece of fabric covering his pale skin was practically glued onto him, and before the show started it literally would be. It was an old trick to lift up the edges of the fabric and generously coat the revealed flesh in hairspray before allowing the material to snap back into place. After all no one wanted anything to pop out or fall down while performing.

However the best thing about their new tour and venue was not only that Seungkwan and himself would be borderline dueting for a portion of it but that they also had somewhat matching stage costumes too. His partners was in the purest shade of white to contrast his own with similar pale blue jewels covering not only the exposed flesh but also his wings too. Both of their bodies had been bathed in glitter, thankfully it was one where the glitter had been deposited in a moisturiser so it was relatively safe to leave on and not worry about immediately rinsing it off. 

They were both currently in the process of applying their stage makeup as they sat side by side at adjacent vanities, the same look of wonder twinkling in their eyes. Realistically their lives were horrid, kidnapped and trapped as modern slaves, but it was moments like these that they both bought into the false glamour of it all just like the audience did. With a heavy sigh Jihoon returned to painted his lids. While his makeup was heavy with black eye-shadow streaking all the way from his inner corners to his temples Seungkwans was a soft rose. Supposedly fitting in with the theme that Seungkwan was a living angel while Jihoon was supposed to haunt your thoughts like some demon. He really lost track of what kind of theme they were supposed to be portraying most of the time, but for now he just wanted to focus on getting the outline of his lips just right. It was the one thing he always pretended to mess up as no matter how small it was Seungkwan always seemed to relish in helping his big brother. So he turned around with a disgustingly fake pout to face Seungkwan, thrusting out the lip brush and pigment towards the bird hybrid.

Seungkwan himself itched at the feeling of the new outfits clinging to sweaty skin as he was always more used to wearing much more flowing and free stage costumes with flowers woven and braided over his wings. That wasn't necessarily what he liked wearing, but it fit with the stage name so that's what he was ordered to put on. But that was changing tonight, tonight he would be revealed in the sky for all to see alongside Jihoon where he belonged. He had always begged for the two of them to appear together more because the crowd did truly love them together, but he always backed down for hear the Ring Master would twist his words. He didn't want to come across as ungrateful after all. He really couldn't stand another night of having his feathers forcibly plucked, not so close to the last occurrence. They hadn't even completely grown back in and filled out yet, it was the flight feathers that took the longest to grow back in and they were coincidentally the most painful to have torn out from his skin. After about the first dozen or so he would always end up wailing in pain on the brink of passing out. Which made the Ring Master angrier still, screaming for Seungkwan to be quiet and to not ruin that pretty little voice of his, as that was all he was good for.

He loved singing, truly loved it, loved sitting there swinging his legs back and forth as large wings fanned out and fluttered behind him while perched high above the awe struck crowds. He loved each and every one of those adoring fans, just seeing how happy and at peace they looked the second he opened his mouth to hit that first note was enough for him. But moreover the idea of performing with his brother was what Seungkwan loved the most. It made his skin prickle with something half way between nerves and maybe excitement, and he couldn't wait to claim the skies like his ancestors once did. To join Jihoon in his pure wildness, and to finally see his brother while he performed up close. The things Jihoon endured for Seungkwan were gradually lessening and the brown haired male was so relieved when it finally sunk in. No more did Jihoon limp in with bruises and burns on his skin, and never did he turn up at gone midnight drugged and covered in semen and blood. No more did Jihoon skip meals for Seungkwan to eat enough, thus were the perks of being the ring master's favourites.

Sometimes the tables even turned slightly and he would be the one helping the elder, usually it was nothing major but it still made him swell with happiness regardless. Like now, as if by clockwork, Jihoon had turned to him with frustration evident in those furrowed brows and he didn't even need to ask what was wrong anymore. It was always the lips Jihoon could never quite get even, half the time out of annoyance the other would drag the makeup across his face instead to add to the wild look. But as it was such a pig to scrub off he now resorted with pleading Seungkwan to do it instead. "Fine fine I'll do it, you'll have to come here though." Seungkwan grumbled but Jihoon was already directly in front of him, showing off his fangs in a huge smile. The bird hybrid only continuing to grumble when his idiot brother just wouldn't stop smiling meaning that he couldn't apply the make up properly causing them both to curse in frustration. Eventually Seungkwan managed to do a somewhat decent job and leant back to take a moment to admire Jihoon.

Jihoon was not especially tall, nor was he ripped with bulging muscles, but he was a perfect compromise. His form was slender and graceful, but the muscles on his lower half more defined than those on his arms from having to leap and jump and run about so much, although his arms weren't far behind from having to support his entire body weight as he clung to trapezes or did a dizzying amount of handsprings. Everything about him seemed feline, his facial features in general were sharp and angular, the fluffy rounded ears sat atop his head easily showing what species he was, especially as they were a pale grey with black rings. His hair too was a similar pale grey but less fluffy looking and more sleek, coming down to cover his forehead to barely brush at his eyelashes, the tips of his hair at the front he had ombréd a deep black.

Now visible because he was shirtless was the white fur on his lower belly, trailing up much like a snail trail would on a human until it faded away at around the level with worryingly prominent ribs. It also wrapped around sharp hips as it both thickened and darkened to a stony grey until it spanned across his lower back, the black rings much larger and more prominent now. The fur became more dense the closer it got to his borderline abnormally large tail. But considering how rare snow leopard hybrids were it was impossible to say what was normal and what wasn't. It's width about the size of Seungkwan's joined hands if he made a ring by placing both his thumbs and middle fingers together from either hand. In reality the bulk of it was mostly just soft fur, the narrow bone buried deep within it. His whole body was packed tightly with corded muscles that most people would doubt held any real power but boy would they be wrong. Plus coupled with how agile and stealthy the other was he, how insanely fast as well it was no surprise that Jihoon made quite the predator under that cute exterior. Though it wasn't all cute. No one could ignore  how his pupils were slits instead of the normal circles, how there was more iris than whites shown in his eyes, and most certainly not ignoring the way gleaming fangs grazed his bottom lip the moment he smiled.

It was incredibly easy to tell exactly what Jihoon was, Seungkwan on the other hand was just a bird to most people. But he wanted to be more than that. He wanted the whole world to know that he was a nightingale, and how proud he was to be one. People often joked that the reason that the two of them were so close was because both of them ranked in the top ten rarest species in their respective overall classifications. They were content to just laugh along, happy that nobody knew the truth. That they were so close because they were kidnapped together, that could only trust and depend on each other in this cruel lifestyle.

Because if anyone ever did, be it a spectator, a reporter, or a police officer, whoever snitched would wind up dead in some tragic stage accident, or the person who witnessed an act of inhumanity would be silenced immediately. And speaking of the devil himself the Ring Master had just poked his head through the door, a feral grin on his face as chubby fingers clung to the door frame.

"Look how magnificent my boys look! So pretty, pretty-pretty-pretty boys! My pretty boys! You two are going to steal the show, and get me so much money!" He sung, the compliments feeling like a thick oil coating Jihoon's flesh and suffocating him in the process. Though the sickly sweet tone didn't last, this man was never kind 'just because', there was always a reason. "So good to your master, but you could be even better! You have an hour until your act begins and I'd love, really really love for you to watch the two men sitting in one of the VIP boxes. They seem strange, yes strange, so strange, strange even to the Ring Master and that's saying something!" And just like that the grotesque man disappeared with his high pitched laughter trailing behind. He may have been laughing while he spoke but they both knew it was no joke and quickly slipped on a hoodie and some shoes to go and 'scope out' these men.

"It's the two I told you about earlier isn't it? I really don't like sharing the same sixth sense with that creep, makes me wonder if he's actually a hybrid or something."

Jihoon scoffed, "there's no way he could do what he does to another hybrid if he was one himself, no one is that fucked up. But I do think you're right, they must be seriously dangerous if even the Ring Master is nervous."

"That's not making me feel any better Ji." Seungkwan hissed out as the rubber soles of his trainers squeaked as he sped up down corridor after corridor. "Are we even going the right way? God why did this place have to be so huge!"

Silently Jihoon followed, every now and then reaching out to grab a fistful of the soft cotton to drag his brother back the right way, he wasn't half wrong by cursing this place and its maze like corridors. "It was meant to make you feel better Kwan." He eventually ground out, mind flickering back to how his body reacted when he first saw that man. "Something strange happened when I saw him, it was like I went into fight or flight, my heart went crazy and it felt like I was full on deer in the headlights, I could even smell his scent."

Seungkwan would apologise later for the obscenity of his shoes grinding to a halt on the floor, he could visibly see Jihoon's ears flattening till the disappeared in his hair in protest. "Woah woah woah, that's not fear my friend, that means you have the hots for him. Oh this never happens!"

"It does fucking not." Jihoon protested as he tapped in the code to gain access to the backstage area. "I told you, it was like primal instinct, full on wanted to maul the guy."

"More like rip his clothes off!" Seungkwan sung in retaliation, dodging the pathetic swipe Jihoon made for his cheek. 

"That is not the point Kwan-"

"You admitted it! You admitted it, you-you wanted to jump the poor guys bones Ji! God why did you pick the biggest creep to get a crush on! We have to go and investigate now!"

"And that has absolutely nothing to do with his friend does it?" Jihoon purred while smirking, very quickly peeking out from behind the curtains to locate the two in question.

"That is not the point Jihoon." Seungkwan haughtily mimicked, "At least I'm honest about my fee-"

"Shut up, shut up shut up shut the actual hell up-"

"Hello not talking here, my god so rude!"

"They're gone Kwan. There are two guys in the booth but it's not them, it's not them, where the fuck have they gone? Are any of the kids still in the dressing rooms? Who hasn't gone on yet?" Jihoon growled, whirling round to direct his voice at any of the stage hands nearby that all mumbled out a variety of different names. Nice to know their general incompetence was the only stable thing in this circus, that and the abuse. "Great, fucking great, you lot are so helpful, come on Kwan hurry!" Jihoon shouted over his shoulder as he was already tearing over the door and furiously tapping in the code, those guys were not going to have his children.

*

To say Seungcheol had been nervous when he first walked through the gates leading to the park that the circus was set up in was an absolutely gigantic, catastrophic, monumental understatement. Never before in the history of their station had any of the officers tackled a case this massive, and this time they would have to do it entirely without the public's support. Throughout time humans had always adored the circus with a burning passion, and now they loved hybrid circus' even more so, so if anybody -be it a hybrid or not- recognised them as the leaders of the H.P.A they would be royally fucked. And the entire mission would come crashing down as a failure. They had taken down much smaller ranking circus' before with ease while working as a whole unit, able to easily spot the bruises on the performers and that they were from abuse and not from training. Sneaking backstage was a breeze meaning they could physically witness and record the beatings as well which make taking the organisations to court a breeze. 

But today was different, this entire case was on a whole other level, with a circus this famous they really couldn't screw around anymore. Various members on the website had told them dark stories about kidnapping, child prostitution, and of course the age of tale of abuse but in this case it supposedly didn't just come from the Ring Master himself. Which was why this investigation would be so difficult. Not only would it be much harder to sneak backstage with the mass of security but they would be unable to recruit any of the performers to collect evidence from the inside because it was impossible to tell who was a victim and who was aiding the Ring Master. 

So far they knew of a dozen members over the age of thirty that were likely to be abusers as well, then came Jihoon and Seungkwan as the only members in their twenties, and after that there were at least two dozen members in their late teens. But the worst part was the sheer amount of children running about the place, and they had heard even more rumours that there were some that weren't even over double digits yet. When this had become a scandal the Ring Master had released a statement saying that they were the children of either members or ex members of the circus, and to most people they thought what hybrid species you were was based solely on what random genetic mutation you had, but Seungcheol knew better. You couldn't get a dog hybrid from two wolves. That's not how it worked.

Although they were fully aware of how much pressure was weighing down on the both of them, Seungcheol and Hansol now felt incredibly responsible for all of the performers. And that if they didn't manage to snag hard enough evidence during the time that they were in Seoul for that the two of them would have somehow failed them all and sent them off to continue their tragic and potentially numbered days. However they couldn't deny that even though they knew of the suffering behind closed doors, even though they knew that most of them had been enslaved since they were children and forced into this unwillingly they were completely awestruck. Even though they knew this, it was still an amazing hybrid circus, and Jihoon and Seungkwan were still two of the rarest species in their groups. Even for people with beliefs such as theirs it was so hard to separate the art from the artist because the Ring Master did such a good job at fooling everyone. So Seungcheol buried the excitement deep down, drowned it in guilt and anger that these poor children had to endure such a life and signaled for the agents to take their places. Allowing them to slither into the darkness of their booth and begin hunting for a way to access the backstage area.

*

The adrenaline coursing through Jihoon's veins was by no means a foreign feeling but it still made his head spin, he wasn't used to tapping into his animalistic senses so much and it was incredibly overwhelming. The worst thing was that he could smell the male they were currently hunting down, from where a sweaty palm had tried a door handle, or where his body had briefly rested against the wall. It was consuming him, making his heart race in time with every rapid footstep as he quietly told everyone he could find to stay inside their dressing rooms and to not answer the door unless they knew who it was. There were only a dozen or so people left to locate and the worst part was that it was mostly the youngest children that had likely run off somewhere whilst playing a game. Seungkwan seemed just as worried and for once was managing to match pace with the snow leopard hybrid. Though that only made it harder to drag the now hyperventilating male back to prevent him from rounding the next corner. The smell was overpowering now, making Jihoon's knees weak but he steeled himself and stood tall. However it was all for nothing.

It felt as if his heart stopped completely when he finally saw the shorter of the two up close, he was still taller than Jihoon by far and noticeably more built. Messy black hair, a sharp jawline that somehow seemed to be softened by the gentle smile the other had on his face. But Jihoon of all people knew what could hide behind a man's gentle smile. He felt exactly the same as he had when he first seen the other, but the haze in his mind was so much denser. The other was so much closer than before, and he could actually taste the scent this time in his Jacob's pallet, it was a heady scent, rich and thick on his tongue. Tasting of pure heat and sweat slicked skin, a faint spice like cinnamon that made his mouth tingle. Jihoon really tried to lie to himself and say that it was disgusting, that it was making his stomach churn in repulsion but it was of no use.  _So this is what Raphael warned me about...but why him?_

"Jihoon oh my god!" He squealed, but the snow leopard clamped a hand over his mouth when the two unknown males spun around, eyes scanning over every inch of the surrounding area and Jihoon realised just a little too late that their shadows were being cast onto the floor by the light of their dressing room behind them, giving away their presence for all to see. The sound of advancing footsteps startled them both, but they had dealt with too many creepy and obsessed fans, too many hunters in disguise, and too many arrogant journalists -although all of which may have found themselves being painted onto the walls by the Ring Master's hand gun- to even take the smallest of a chance anymore.

He had to protect Seungkwan. Even from someone as alluring as that man who for the second time that night locked eyes with him. Jihoon's breath caught in his throat before it wheezed out in pants, his body uncontrollably twitching as his instincts screamed to just get as close as possible to the other and the more reasonable half fought to stand dead still.

Jihoon chose not to question why his tail began whipping from side to side, a sound half way between a purr and a growl spilling from his mouth like liquid, or the way his pupils dilated,  fangs elongating till they sank into his bottom lip slightly. Jihoon didn't dare ask why his body reacted this way, because he had to protect Seungkwan.

He had to protect the only family he had ever known.

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Readers! Oh my god I'm so excited that were actually digging into the plot now! What do you guys think!! I'm so glad you get to see my actual writing now that the prologue is all done and out of the way, I mean this chapter is still an absolute beast but they're actually about to like interact now, I'm so excited for what comes next and I hope you all are too. Please please let me know what you guys think in the comments and as always kudos are always loved and appreciated endlessly!  
> I'll see you guys next time (1/2 weeks!)


	3. First Impressions

"Seungkwan, run! Now!" Jihoon screamed, shoving said male behind him and instantly feeling relieved when rapid footsteps gradually got quieter as the distance between them grew. However that feeling soon changed when the two - **much**  larger up close  _oh shit_ _-_ strangers appeared in front of him. Immediately he prepared himself to fly towards them, crouching down before propelling forwards with the use of his strong legs. Jihoon flung out both his arms in hope of catching both of them to take them to the ground with him but unfortunately he only managing to latch onto one of them with a strong enough grip. The other slipping past and chasing after Seungkwan. 

And yet again Jihoon was briefly left wondering to himself as he flew through the air if he subconsciously chose to pounce on the guy that had been plaguing his thoughts all night just to finally feel that firm body underneath tingling fingertips. To finally give him the bliss of skin on skin contact that he had unknowingly been craving so badly. Jihoon refused to let himself think about how strangely good it felt to be straddling the stranger and to be pinning the human down, the only priority was to deal with this one quickly so that he could go and check in on Seungkwan to make sure his brother was safe. He had to keep Seungkwan safe, and get these bastards out of his territory now, the scent of that other male encroaching on his home ground was driving him insane.

Meanwhile Seungkwan's heart was practically in his stomach as he charged down corridor after corridor, wings scraping the walls painfully as he dragged and toppled over chairs as well as tables in his wake. But the other never relented, footsteps fell in time with his own but the other's breathing was no where near as laboured as Seungkwan's. He daren't turn around in case he tripped and fell, refusing to give this creep an opportunity to take advantage of him while he was vulnerable. The hybrid just had to hide and pray the other didn't find him, and unknowingly Seungkwan had led them back around, doubling back on himself in some loop so now he was essentially heading towards Jihoon rather than away.

He outright refused to endanger anybody else with this situation so instead of opening the door to anybody else's dressing room, mainly in case either some of the kids were in there, Seungkwan chose to dart into his own dressing room. Thankfully a small amount of distance had begun to build between himself and the pursuer so the hybrid took a moment to assess all the places that he could possibly hide in or behind. It took far, far less than a moment to decide there was absolutely no where for him to hide that wasn't painstakingly obvious. There was the walk in wardrobe but, like, **duh**. Blinded with panic Seungkwan spun around uselessly and the large wings ended up catching on all sorts of things. Whipping objects up into the air that occasionally flew into walls or ricocheted his own body, wires shot across the room like striking vipers and a few even draped themselves over the feathered appendages.

Containers of stage make up and glitter had splattered onto his skin and the floor, a metal rack that was filled with spare versions of their current stage outfits and a few others for them to choose from had toppled over but Seungkwan was too paralysed to move out of it's path as it fell. Half due to pure fear and half from the fact that no matter how much he squirmed and wriggled the spare wiring for the microphones pulled even tauter on his left wing than ever before. The plugs slightly lifting from the sockets on the walls with the strain and realistically he knew if he just breathed and calmed down he could easily untangle himself but it just wasn't happening. So with an almighty heave he fell to the floor with the rack on top of him, chest feeling tight as his breath wheezed in and out in a blind panic. Seungkwan was laying with what should have been his back on the floor, but instead his upper body had twisted and now his left wing thanks to the material wrapping around it was being pulled across his body so that he had no choice but to twist painfully at the waist. His right wing crushed underneath him with the weight of everything on top of him, but he swallowed his cries of pain when he heard footsteps coming to a halt outside his door.

Hansol knew they were royally fucked, why on earth were they running? Why the fuck was he still chasing him too? The two of them one hundred percentage should have just played the we thought the VIP tickets gave us all access bullshit and hoped for the best. Now he was having to think of a entirely new excuse and pray to god Seungcheol said something similar if it came to it. He panted as he came to a halt outside of the dressing room, quite clearly able to hear the commotion going on inside ever from around the corner and there was no doubt that Seungkwan was in there. Hansol was still thinking about what on earth he was going to say as his fingers clasped around the cool metal of the door handle, but all thoughts immediately left his mind at the sight that greeted him.

'Angel' was sprawled out in the middle of the room, an assortment of items scattered about on the floor around him not to mention all those on top of him. There was pain evident in his features and Hansol immediately clocked the odd way the other's wing was positioned, putting two and two together. Clothes layered themselves over the other's lower half, a metal rack haphazardly balancing on a chair as it hovered dangerously close to Seungkwan's stomach. The second it creaked and began to slide downwards he didn't even think twice as he flew across the room, hand wrapping around the cool bar and forcing it upright with little difficulty, grimacing when most of the clothing that was still on the hangers promptly fell off and pooled on the floor. But he had bigger things to deal with.

"My god, you're-wait you're actually Angel? Right? Oh my god I'm so sorry! We never meant for this to happen, we-we we're just pushing our luck really, with the whole all access VIP things, I just full on panicked, I didn't think, like I didn't want you to run screaming that there was some, some like creepy stalker, that had snuck back stage but but then I chased you, and and I became like,  **I**  was the creep chasing you and now here we are!"

"What the fu-"

"I'm sorry! I should have been helping you up! Not rambling!" Hansol interrupted, hoping his smile seemed friendly and genuine when in reality he was shitting bricks.  _What if he doesn't buy it? What if he doesn't believe me?_

"W-what? No! Get off me- don't touch me! Get out-ah! Ow-fuck." Seungkwan screamed, words cutting off abruptly as he tried to scramble backwards and ended up ripping his already strained wing so much that he heard a crack and felt the individual pin pricks of feathers being ripped out that had gotten snagged on God knows what. "Don't touch me you creep!"

His heart was racing and his mouth had gone dry, the tips of his fingers and the palms of his trembling hands itched with sweat and tingled as they shook. The rough carpet scraped along Seungkwan's bare back and there would definitely be raw skin turning a pale brown from carpet burn in the morning, along with the abundance of other scratches on his body. Ribs seemed to pulse and jump with life with each tangible throb of the organ in his chest, eyes flickering over the form of the man in the doorway for any signs of movement.

No less than ten minutes ago he had been thinking about the same boy, thinking about how his voice might sound if Seungkwan was brave enough to talk to him. How it might be to get lost in those hazel eyes for the night. He'd kissed guys before, mostly other hybrids but there couldn't be much difference with a human, but it looked like Seungkwan was about to find out whether he wanted to or not. Tears began to well up in his eyes as in flashes he remembered Jihoon laying there a shell of who he was covered in bruises and blood on their dirty trailer floor.

"No! You've got it all wrong, I'm not here to do any of the w-weird things or touch you or anything! It's just, like, look, it's my fault you're stuck like this and I doubt you can untangle yourself, so just sit still and let me help you alright?" Hansol repeated, stepping closer to the hybrid until he was within arms reach. But Seungkwan still trashed and writhed for a few seconds, still slightly kicking his legs out to gain distance between them yet thankfully not screaming anymore. Hazel eyes never leaving Hansol's form though.

Hansol muttered out dozens of apologies as he retracted his hand and slowly began untangling the snags around his wings, slipping wires over and under until gradually they began to pool around them. The other's wing was finally free from being pulled in that grotesque manner and Seungkwan immediately retracted it back into it's place, a low whine spilling from his lips. The officer quickly moved onto the other wing until Seungkwan was just laying there on the floor with various items and ropes surrounding him.

His eyes didn't seem to focus on anything at all but they still glowed the same liquid gold as before, wings twitching and chest continuing to heave as the other sucked in great heaps of air. Skin glistening under the lights, shimmering as if an iridescent liquid had been painted across every inch of exposed skin. Burning an almost white along his collar bones, catching on his rips and hips and stealing across his cheekbones. The rest of the exposed body twinkling as the hybrid gradually began breathing slowly, his eyes finally coming back into focus. And they focused on Hansol. 

There was fear in his eyes, Hansol was no Jeonghan but he knew that much. But what sickened him the most was that it wasn't a fear of the unknown, it was a fear of what came next. But he didn't know how to make that fear go away, didn't know how to make it better, how to apologise or explain himself. It was probable that they were ruining the case by now, fucking up everything and destroying the slim chance that these hybrids had a freedom in the space of a few minutes. He had sentenced this hybrid to spend the rest of his life in a cage, to be Angel forever. "But you really do look like an angel though." Hansol unknowingly whispered, a sigh escaping his mouth as he hung his head in shame. The taller merely hovered over the hybrid, very unsure of what to do next. But when someone crashed through the door and hauled him to his feet all Hansol could see was eyes so blue they burned and a blur of sharp fangs snapping dangerously close to his face and neck.

*

Jihoon panted as he rounded another bend but he refused to give up, not while the guy was still focused on chasing him and definitely not going after Seungkwan. And if the flickering lights and boxes of spare equipment were anything to go by the hybrid had succeeded in leading the other away. And now was the time to strike.

Instead of rounding the next corner Jihoon ran straight towards the wall with palms outstretched, making a sickening sound as they slapped the wall. The second they met the hard surface Jihoon leapt and tucked his knees up to his chest, all while gradually leaning back, claws digging into the wall to hold himself in place. Once his torso nearly became horizontal he shot his legs back out so that they straightened and slammed against the wall feet first. Sending Jihoon flying back towards the other with a growl in his throat as he rotated his body mid air. Arms out, palms open, reaching for the unsuspecting and seemingly frozen male. One hand catching the other across the face and the other curling around his shoulder but soon as they found purchase on the stalker's body the hybrid gripped both the fabric and the skin beneath it tightly as they both tumbled to the floor.

The body beneath him was solid and so warm to the touch as Jihoon fought to keep the man there, hands pressing against the other's firm chest and occasionally darting out to grab an oncoming fist heading for him. But what he hadn't been expecting was for the other to suddendly shift downwards and fold himself completely in half. Legs coming up so far until the toes of boots squeaked on the floor, then straightening out again seconds later as the backs of his thighs and calves collided with Jihoon's chest, pressing him to the floor while the other sat up and hovered above him.

The human was towering form of muscle, a heat clinging to his skin that blazed so brightly and practically burned Jihoon wherever the two were touching, coupled with a scent that oozed out of every inch and dripped down Jihoon's throat like the sweetest honey. Sending his mind into a haze which he drifted in and out of like a pebble in a strong current, yet his body still trashed around just like those furious waves as he fought in the other's hold. But whether to get away or closer still he did not know, all he knew was that when the other gripped his jaw and forced him to look dead on at the other Jihoon completely stopped breathing.

Up close the other was so much, well, so much more breathtaking. His hair was a mess, the black strands still somehow looking so soft as they stood up every which way. A shock of red clawing along his right cheekbone and his lower lip was swollen slightly on one side and Jihoon had the indescribable urge -the first in his life- to kiss the other senseless. But a sharp pain as the other knelt on his tail had him springing back into life with a yowl ringing throughout the air sharply. Plus the knowledge that this guy could well be some kind of rapist or total creepo-stalker, Jihoon couldn't forget that little nugget no matter how handsome the other was.

"Let go of me!" He hissed, bucking in the other's hold until his thighs burned.

"Jihoon -Woozi, whatever! Please stay -ahhh fuck!" Seungcheol cursed as another fist slammed across his face and he was sent reeling, a stab of pain as Jihoon kicked him away and it was pretty much a given that there would be a shoe shaped bruise going across his chest the next morning. To go with his array of other scratches, bite marks, and bruises that they had gotten while tousling of course.

He scrambled to stand once more, entire forearm resting against the wall as he heaved himself up and threw himself at Jihoon. Pinning the hybrid between himself and the nearest wall, the dull thud of bony elbows and knees knocking onto the wall made Seungcheol grimace. For once he was so tightly pressed against the other, practically inch for inch, bar the missing ones due to Jihoon's lacking height that he could feel everything. He was pressed so close that the notches in the hybrids spine pressed into his own chest, the angular points of the other's shoulder blades finding a home there too, the dips between his ribs bumped along his forearms as Seungcheol encased the still squirming hybrid in his arms.

"Please! Please just listen to me, I'm not going to hurt you! Stop. Squirming." Seungcheol ground out, pulling back slightly to allow Jihoon to slip his crumpled tail out from between them but that was apparently all the wiggle room the other needed to push off against the wall and send Seungcheol flying towards the other side of the corridor yet again.

The other male behind him groaned as his body was flung into the wall, curses flying from the human's mouth but Jihoon was back to his feet within seconds with a look of pure fire. And God was Jihoon burning, just everywhere, everything was on fire and the snow leopard made it but a few shaky steps backwards before it was him this time that was being slammed into the wall. Body being scooped up in the process, a hand splaying across his back and another gripping one of his thighs to keep his legs wrapped around the other's waist. 

Seungcheol angled his body so that his hips pressed Jihoon's to the wall, simultaneously spreading his legs and tensing both his thighs and engaging his core to keep the hybrid in place. All while leaning his upper body backwards so that there was a slight distance between the two of them, hands gripping Jihoon's wrists but never quite managing to get them to stick to the wall. The other was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked, and the way those white teeth gleamed when the light caught them made chills race up Seungcheol's spine, coupled with the way the other growled,  _oh_  how it made him tremble. And that was not what he was allowed to be feeling right now.

"Get off me you creep! Don't touch me!" Snarling Jihoon kicked his legs about in the vain hope of wriggling out of the other's hold. Never before had he felt so powerless and just so ready and willing to give up, to submit, but he refused to listen to the instinct. So he still fought with everything he had despite the fatigue in his muscles and the panic that had his lungs in a death grip, his eyes still blazed and the growl never stopped rumbling out of his chest. Snarls and hisses accompanying it to create something that should have warned any sane human to back the fuck up. He didn't know what new hunter technique it was that made Jihoon act this way but despite the way his tail flicked back and forth, and ignoring the way his face had flushed, Jihoon swung and managed to land a solid punch to the other's jaw. Driving his body forwards immediately afterwards while the other man was still reeling from the force of it to snap his jaw dangerously close over to unknown man's neck, satisfied when he could taste the pure sense of primal fear in the air.

Panic, full on panic, Seungcheol knew he had to dig himself out fast or he'd be royally fucked. "I'm not- that's not what I'm here to do, I'm not some fetishy pervert, wai-hey!-" Seungcheol was cut off by another fist getting dangerously close to catching across his brown bone. "-Stop! Just stop, I'm not going to hurt you, Vernon isn't hurting Seungkwan either, we're just dumb as shit fans that pushed their luck and, and like then he ran and you just came right at us and we like panicked, we- we had just been talking about how we were going to get kicked out and be made to leave and then you and and Seungkwan appeared and it was all a giant mistake, I'm sorry, I really am!" A deep voiced hissed in panic, sending shivers down Jihoon's spine.

"Liar! Fucking liar! I swear if he touches him, touches him in any way, I'll tear you to pieces." There was anger in his voice, but Jihoon was ruined by the catch in his throat as he spoke, giving away the heavy emotion lacing every word. 

Seungcheol tensed then, there was a truth in Jihoon's eyes and suddenly he seemed so much older. In that instances he knew what those eyes had seen, a deep pit of guilt forming deep within him. But Jihhon was still half rambling half yelling on without a care, wild panic over him now.

"Get out! Get out get out get out! Please don't touch him! Please dont- just leave! Please! Let go of me, I have to- I need to- he's my, he's my baby brother please-" The other was full on hyperventilating by this point and the Captain was genuinely starting to get worried. He knew how hybrids could get, their alternate natures ran so much deeper than physical characteristics despite what the average human thought, it infiltrated their every fiber of being. Take any generic cat hybrid for example, generally incredibly territorial with a tendency to attack without question and just keep attacking no matter what it cost them. While genuine cats could often be incredibly solitary animals, snow leopards especially spent a decent portion of their early life living in an incredibly family orientated environment. So when it was factored in that Jihoon was most likely taken as a child alongside Seungkwan the family dynamic was all he had ever known. Physically the hybrid was an adult, but mentally was a whole other story. And especially in this state it was only going to get worse from there. Leaving Seungcheol with little choice, despite how it was a complete violation of a person's rights.

Just as the other abruptly moved in closer Jihoon lunged forwards once more, the tips of his fangs barely breaking the surface before his entire body just melted. His head lolling forwards until his forehead rested against that same patch of skin he had once been poised over ready to attack, the sweat making his hair glue itself to his forehead. Jihoon's tail whipped back and forth wildly before it curled around the other's upper thigh, a purr rumbling out of his chest between panicked gasps of air. It was quite possibly the weirdest sensation he had ever experienced. Yet he still panted, and he swore that for a moment his eyes rolled into the back of his head; the world fading in and out as the edges pulsed with darkness. And all because the other had wrapped an arm around his waist, pressed his forefinger and thumb either side to the base of his tail and began applying pressure in circular motions, coupled with the fingers pinching the skin at the back of his neck he had been rendered completely immobile. His hands clinging to the human's shirt, tail coiling tighter as he continued to pant and purr, whimpering at the feeling of suppressed panic. 

Because that's what it was, a hot and unwanted calm of sorts was flowing through him while his chest still heaved and his heart still thundered away. Mind screaming at itself, completely torn between giving in and fighting more but in the end Jihoon just relented. Allowing himself for the briefest of moments to just breathe and calm himself down. He could fight better once the other was unsuspecting. However the more Jihoon allowed himself to sink into the feeling the dirtier it felt, it was quickly becoming less of a soothing thing and more of something that was making him writhe in the other's grip. The scent was overpowering this close, borderline pleasurable. But then the pressure began to gradually lessen, although his limbs were still sluggish and Jihoon was yet to be able to stand on his own, he desperately tried to firstly pull away and when that was to no avail Jihoon fought to stop himself letting out hiccuped purrs. 

"I'm really, really fucking sorry, you were just so panicked and scared and its not an excuse but I just didn't know what else to do, I- I know you have these spots like these pressure point type things that make you relax and I just did it and I'm so fucking sorry."

"I'm really not fucking happy about it, like really not, you fucking asshole." Jihoon growled out weakly, emphasis on weakly. "But, like, I get it, doesn't make it okay at all, but I get it, I was a state, and if you were a stalker you probably would have done stuff to me while doing that weird hand shit, so, you have the benefit of the doubt for now..."

"What? Oh! Uh, Coups, you can call me Coups, my- my initials are S.C, it became S.Coups, and now, now like its just Coups, so yeah. That's me!" Seungcheol was ten out of ten not a fan of the way the other's eyes were narrowing at him.

"And you are...?-"

"We-"

"No! No, let me guess, massive idiots that just wandered backstage? Thinking a VIP ticket entitles you to everything?" He snarked, brow raising in suspicion as the other began to loosen his hold completely.

"Yes yes! Wait no! We're here-"

"To leave. Now. Trust me kid, I've -we've dealt with fans like you before, we all have, but as sweet and  **inappropriate** as it is you still can't be back here. If the Ring Master finds out that you are he would literally kill you, and your friend too. Just walk away from this please, go back to your seats, you guys can just watch us, just sit and watch, you were in the VIP section too so you can come see us after the show just do not come back here. This was all one giant misunderstanding that I don't have the energy to deal with today so you- fucking- shit, Jesus C-Christ can you please stop doing that! I can't even think!" Jihoon yelled in frustration, a shuddering breath escaping him when the hands finally slipped away and his body was allowed to finally calm itself. While the other had already stopped whatever hand jutsu magic he was doing previously there was just something about his hands on Jihoon's skin, his body being that close and thrumming with heat that was distraction beyond belief.

"That's fine! That's more than fine, we didn't mean for all this to happen and I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, I know you just want us gone and and you don't trust what I'm saying at all- I don't even blame you, if you'll take me to him we can find Vernon and be done with this."

"Couldn't fucking agree more, the sooner you leave the better, I don't trust you in the slightest. Now walk in front of me and I'll tell you where to go."

_I've fucking blown it, I've blown it, how can I fix this? What do I do?_ "I'm sorry, I really am, we were so looking forward to seeing who you actually are, like- like-  out of the spotlight, and without the stage makeup and glitter, because all of you are so much more than who you're supposed to portray on stage. Because that's like, not who you actually are, you're not the animal you're forced to be out there."

Jihoon hated that it struck a cord in him, absolutely detested in. Because he couldn't just let someone in like that, he never let anyone in at all. Let alone a stranger. But the intention behind it was sweet at least, and while there was a strange feeling bubbling under his skin Jihoon didn't feel threatened at all as he guided the other through the corridors. Yet the idea of displaying that vulnerable side, just because this human was curious rubbed him up completely the wrong way. Trust had to be earned, it was never just readily given.

There had been officers, reporters, stalkers, more fans like this human in the past snooping around but all had been dissuaded by money or with anything but empty threats, but deep down he so desperately hoped that this human would be different from the rest. So with a nod of his head he quickly agreed, rambling on about how it might be nice or something as equally lame and embarrassing.

The weight of the world seemed to lift off of Seungcheol's broad shoulders the moment he heard those words, they might still be able to claw it back and actually have a solid lead in the investigation. Briefly turning around he gave Jihoon was he hoped was a reassuring smile but he was instantly distracted and barely paid attention on where the other was directing him to go. The pathetic lights above them cast shadows on Jihoon's body, dulling the glittery sheen but his eyes never dimmed. They seemingly glowed a mixture between lilac and sliver, briefly reflecting the light in a quick flash. And in that moment Seungcheol was completely captivated. However the sound of a heeled boot snapping against the hard flooring brought him back to his senses, his head whipping around to try and locate where it was coming from and if it was getting closer. Voicing his thoughts aloud he was given an answer.

"It is, it's the Ring Master and he's coming this way, but he's probably going to stop off in his room for a few minutes before he comes this way. You get out and I'll find your friend." Jihoon barked, ears swiveling on his head.

"No I'll stay and help you, you've got a show to start, I'll phone him once we're inside your dressing room-" When the two of them eventually burst through the door they were met with a sight that Seungcheol was instantly relieved by whereas Jihoon instantly flew forwards, pressing the unknown male into the wall with a growl in his throat. Thankfully Seungcheol ripped him off just as quickly with a strong grip on the back of Jihoon's neck. Although he was surprised by how easy it was. "-Hey! Stop it, that's Vernon, he's with me, I'm sure he was just giving Seungkwan a hand in cleaning himself up, what on earth happened in here?" He asked, looking at the state of the room and the various things covering Seungkwan's skin that 'Vernon' had been helping to clean off.

Jihoon felt his face flush scarlet as he stared up at Seungcheol in complete shock at his own immediate submission, stuttering out protests until he was released. Stormed over to Seungkwan in a sulk, "I'll do that! Thank you! Can you just clean up the room a bit please, this mess is your fault anyways." He turned to Seungkwan next, "You've got to get a better understanding of how big your wings are Kwannie, this is happening too often at this point."

"I'm sorry Ji, he really was just helping me get cleaned up for the show, there's not much time before our set starts." The bird hybrid insisted, really hoping that his brother ignored the flush on his cheeks and the rapid fluttering of his heartbeat.

"That is exactly why you two need to leave, we need to get ready, and- god if the Master finds you- you, you need to leave. Now, please." His tone softened slightly when he locked gaze with Seungcheol.

"What will he do to us, or to both of you? What are you so scared of?" The man, Jihoon finally remembering that his name was Vernon, asked in a deadly serious tone.

"That's none of your business, and personally I don't want to experience it again so would you kindly fuck off back to your seats?" Seungkwan hissed, still slumped over the vanity with his face surrounded by makeup products of all kinds that had thankfully been wiped clean and returned to their correct place. There were still a few marks on the carpet, but the costumes had been hung up and the cables had been tucked away too so the room was almost back to normal now.

The fluffy ears on Jihoon's head swiveled around rapidly, flattening completely against the silver strands as he held up a hand in the bird hybrid's direction to silence him. "It's too late, hide them. Coups, Vernon, get in the walk in closet, it's behind the folding screen."

"Right, back into the closet for us gays then." Hansol joked, smiling at his partner but Jihoon definitely wasn't appreciating it and opened his mouth to yell in frustration

"Oh! Oh wait! No, like, Jihoon I think it's a human thing, when you announce what gender of mate you want it's called coming out of the closet, and and gay is that human thing where they only look for mates that have the same gender as them, and and you were telling them to go back in, and it was somehow funny? I think, right?" Seungkwan chirped, pleased that he had understood. It seemed watching all that human TV had finally paid off.

"I don't care, just get in! But like w-why are you announcing that you're gay? We're not, not interested in what you want as a mate at all, we don't- don't want to be your mate!" Jihoon yelled, trying to disguise how flustered the  other's words had made him. It made every little moment that he shared with Seungcheol have a strange twist to them, suddenly in his mind it was more intimate, the way the man had touched him was no longer angering him and instead was making his cheeks burn at the memory of it.

Seungcheol felt as if his was tongue was lead, simply flopping around in his mouth as he so desperately tried to formulate words. An explanation maybe, a combination of denial and embarrassment at the terminology that Jihoon had used. But when he came to think of it he couldn't imagine hybrids in this secluded cult like environment casually dating. Although the word mate held much more than any human relationship did, the only thing he could relate it to was soulmates. Certain hybrids that were still old fashioned in a sense did still believe in the whole 'there is only one mate for you' mentality, and as Jihoon and Seungkwan probably didn't know anything other than that therefore the idea of Seungcheol implying that he saw Jihoon as a potential mate meant a lot more to the hybrid than he thought it did.

But he didn't have time for that, all he could do for now was allow himself to be dragged inside the wardrobe that was actually a small room adjoining the dressing room, a sort of walk in closet, and hide there until the Ring Master was gone.

"Wait, won't he sense us? He's a hybrid right, what is he?" Hansol whispered, still rather ironically refusing to go back into the closet and it appeared that it was sending Seungkwan into a complete panic.

"We don't know! Okay? Nobody does, he's too- too  **something** to be human, but he doesn't have any hybrid features and he doesn't smell like one either." Jihoon explained in pure frustration, and apparently he had had enough because no sooner than he had finished speaking Hansol was being shoved into the pitch black room alongside Seungcheol. And the door was quietly closed, the last thing either of them saw was a look of pure fear on Jihoon's face that he had obviously been trying to conceal while they were in the room.

"Quick, unhook your mic and press it against the door, we might be able to get something to enhance later." Seungcheol ordered as he did the exact same but instead raised his to a vent in the top corner of the room next to the door. Seungcheol could faintly hear Seungkwan trying to ease the situation but Jihoon was having none of it and giving the other blunt replies as he further tidied the room. Silence came next. Complete and utter silence and he could practically feel the whole atmosphere shift when the door to the dressing room creaked open. Heeled boots thudding on the carpet covered floor, many other things jingling along with the unknown person.

"How are my favourite pets? Do you like the room? It's a nice room yes! Nice, nice room! Does the pretty pretty birdie like his new cage, I said I was going to keep you forever so I figured that I should make you sing in nicer places. And I can't forget about my little kitty as well and I can safely say that there will be no more nights spent at the motel for you if you behave yourself!" The man's voice was shrill and high pitched, but it wavered and wobbled as he spoke. It reminded Seungcheol of the voices of villains in old time movies, the ones that were teetering on the edge of sanity and were leaning heavily onto the side of no return.

"We like it very much, thank you Ring Master." Jihoon it sounded like, he spoke softly, in a timid voice, nothing like he had when he was chewing the both of them out previously.

"You obviously aren't grateful enough to do the very simple task that I set you, you stupid, pathetic boy. I bet it was your fault wasn't it, my little birdie?!-" Cries of pain were heard but they couldn't tell from who. That was until the person seemingly squawked and they knew it was Seungkwan.

"No Ring Master it was me, I couldn't do my own makeup so I insisted that Seungkwan did it. I didn't want to embarrass you or myself on our first big show by looking trashy." Jihoon again, and Seungcheol wondered why he was immediately taking the blame for Seungkwan -for all of them technically- when it was obvious that he'd end up hurt.

"You'd be trashy no matter what makeup you put on that pretty face, after all I know how much of a whore you are deep down, or can you not remember from all the drugs pumped into your system beforehand?" The Ring Master broke off into a cackle and even through the door he could hear the sharp intake of breath. Seungcheol's hands curled into fists at his sides and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from bursting through the door.

"I'll deal with you both later. Good luck then my favourites,  **my** pretty kitty,  **my** pretty birdie, you're on in about twenty minutes, and if you mess this up as well I can guarantee that you will regret it later. Oh no don't worry Jihoon I'll make sure I find someone special for Seungkwan's first time." The man practically sang and he could feel Hansol practically vibrating with anger beside him. "Oh and surprise, big surprise! You have a twenty minute gap at the end to fill because I can't be bothered to close up tonight so I don't know, do some audience participation, fall and die for all I care but if you do make it theatrical, gotta get us some pity funds!"

Even after the door had closed when the ring master left Seungcheol still didn't move other than to reattach the mic to his chest. He didn't know what to do, whether to go out and whisk the hybrids away, saving them from whatever they had to endure once the show was done. Or to leave the two of them alone, as everything was essentially their fault. But it was decided for them when the door was slowly opened and Jihoon peered in.

"I think you two need to leave. And preferably never come back, if you don't mind." Jihoon's eyes were hauntingly empty, his voice completely monotone.

"What was he on about just then? Did he hurt you?! We couldn't hear much through the door but you do know that like you can go to the police about this? I'm sure they can help you." Hansol spoke stiffly, his voice strained as he fought back the urge to scream to the two of them that yes you can tell us, please tell us, we can help you!" but he knew that he couldn't. It was Seungcheol's plan to befriend them first, before eventually slipping in the whole 'I'm technically an undercover officer right now and I'm about to potentially change your life for the better' style bomb that would surely cause a fair few ripples in the water.

"He'd just pay them off, plus humans don't care about us, they never have and never will -oh wait, I uh, I didn't meant that, I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you I'm just like, summarising for lack of a better word how a good majority of humans feel about us." Jihoon stumbled over his words, padding over to Seungkwan and helping him to smooth down the feathers on his wings. "We have fans, but normally they just like befriend us because they want tickets or private shows -the ones that want the private shows tend to be the ones that fetishise us because we are exotic and unique. You know, we aren't fully human so we're supposedly magically just a whole different ball game in bed."

"It's alright, I get it, no harm done. But we do really want to be friends with you, if you'd let us. No private shows, no free tickets because we're buying ourselves some anyway. I know it's a long shot, asking you to be friends with a couple of strangers. And I will admit that you being hybrids and famous are the only things we know about you but we'd like to know more, we don't want you two to have to be Woozi and Angel all the time, and I think all of your fans would like to see that side of you-"

"Woozi, Angel, please make your way to the arena immediately. Your time slot will start in ten minutes and the crew needs to get you up there." A monotone voice rang out from overhead interrupting Hansol and cutting him off completely.

"We seriously have to go now Vernon I'm sorry, it's not safe for you to be sneaking back here so I don't think we can." Jihoon countered with, an almost regretful tone seeping in. There was nothing hungry in the way that Coups looked at him, or in the way Vernon watching Seungkwan while he moved. The scent of lust did not hang in the air and Jihoon did not feel a single desire to protect Seungkwan which was a first. He felt oddly safe with both of them and over the years he had really learned to trust his instincts blindly because they never left him astray, but it was contrasted by his own mind in that he did not want to trust a stranger around Seungkwan. "It's not that I don't want to, like be uh, friends, with you, we'll just never see you."

"What about the VIP shows? I mean we have the tickets can we come see you then?" Seungcheol proposed, hoping that the other would say yes. They had no chance of launching a case against the Ring Master -his actual name was something French or maybe Italian sounding and only Hansol actually knew how to pronounce it properly, hell Seungcheol couldn't even remember it- if they couldn't get any actual evidence.

"That sounds great! Meet us there, me and Jihoon would be very happy to see you there but for now we have to leave you to you know, go do our thing. You can like watch us, wait that sounds weird, just, just go and sit back down in your seats!" Seungkwan flustered as he was being dragged out of their dressing room by a firm grip on his wing, but he was grinning eagerly at Hansol the entire time.

*

Seungkwan found his skin crawling the entire time, a new feeling of nerves settling deep in his stomach and it left him feeling giddy. Given that Vernon was in one of the private booths it made him very easy to spot, coupled with the fact that even as Seungkwan dipped and flew, even as he sat out to let Jihoon perform he always felt the other watching. Smiling, waving, cheering and tugging on Seungcheol's arm to make him look over towards the bird hybrid rather than at Jihoon who seemed to have his full, undivided attention.

So in the end he found himself singing louder, daring to dive down lower and free fall just for a few seconds. Feeling the lightness of the air ghosting across his exposed skin that contrasted with the way Vernon's eyes weighed on him. For once he felt happy to perform and deep down he felt guilty because he knew the feeling didn't completely stem from performing with Jihoon for the first time. Although judging from the way that those icy blue eyes flickered to the same VIP box Seungkwan knew he wasn't the only one captivated by the strange humans. When the performance came to an finish they had thankfully run over by fifteen minutes meaning that they could spend but a few minutes joking around with each other and therefore thoroughly entertaining the crowd with their bickering. The entire population within the building roaring with laughter as instead of just performing hybrids Woozi and Angel became people, they became best friends for the public to gawk at. Seungcheol's words echoed in Jihoon's head with a condescending tone, he hated that the human was right. And from how the Ring Master was beaming with pride at them both hopefully there would be no punishment for earlier, especially if Vernon really did turn up to the private show and talk to him.

But Seungkwan didn't have time to dwell on that, all he could focus on was holding his breath as Jihoon resprayed his body with gold glitter, thankfully the canister was put down and the glitter was dabbed onto his face with a wet sponge. Later on he was able to get his revenge by doing the same to Jihoon but with silver, briefly deeming the other beautiful in his mind when he had finally finished the job. Half of the time they put the glitter on to blend the concealer that covered their bruises and half of it was because when certain people got handsy and then denied it, they could easily be proven wrong by the glitter clinging to their clothing or hands.

Although he didn't think he'd mind if Vernon went home looking a little bit sparkly. In human terms Seungkwan had long since accepted that he was gay, he felt no attraction to female hybrids even those among the different species of birds. However he felt a definitive pull towards certain male hybrids that he had briefly met while touring, and even more so to the human standing a few feet away from him as the entire circus crew came out and greeted the audience of the private show.

*

"Cheol come on, how are we gonna keep this up?" Hansol whispered fiercely in irritation.

"Just shut it, they are more likely to confide in us as friends rather than officers. If they knew who we were they'd be too afraid of being caught with us to help us out at all. We just have to keep coming to the shows and try and get closer with them."

"This is going to get so fucking messy, we need to regroup and get a better plan of what we're doing and acting around them."

Seungcheol couldn't help but roll his eyes at this, "It's only going to be messy if you can't get over your little school boy crush you have on bird brains over there."

"Oh as if you can talk. Anyways, we could use this to our advantage you know? They'd be even more likely to confide in their new lovers." Hansol joked, cheeks red as he insisted that Seungcheol felt the same about Jihoon, of which the other male furiously denied.

"That's if the feeling is mutual, and imagine how messy that would be. Imagine how angry they'd be when they found out? We can't get that involved in a case, we have to keep it professional." Seungcheol tiredly attempted to reason with his partner.

"Professional my ass, you walked into that dressing room popping one and we both know it Cheol if you'd just admit that you-"

"Popping a what?" Seungkwan chirped from behind Hansol, giving a shy little wave once he had finished speaking. Jihoon meanwhile was hiding behind his left wing and running his fingers through Seungkwan's pale brown feathers in an attempt to distract himself from Seungcheol.

"Nothing. It's nothing don't worry about it, human thing. Vernon will be shutting up now." Seungcheol ground out as his hand tightened like a vice around Hansol's bicep, ignoring the repetitive cursing under the other's breath as he did so. He felt rude that he was sitting on one of the plush cushions adorning the semi circle shaped booths that were dotted around a much smaller stage this time while the others were still standing after performing for hours, so he stood up and dragged the taller with him.

"Right okay, so, uhh..." Seungkwan trailed off, much more used to people asking him to sign things or pose for pictures rather than wanting an actual conversation. Every one else they'd been round to talk to had acted that way, thankfully there wasn't much time left in the VIP meet and greet so they wouldn't have to suffer for long.

"Are you feeling better now? Nothing happened did it?" Seungcheol asked innocently, not seeing a hair out of place on the two hybrids when compared to before, but it was amazing what makeup could hide.

"No no we're okay, nothing happened. Nothing happened so we don't need to talk about it, let's talk about something else!" Jihoon chirped, false enthusiasm dripping from his voice, and it was clear the humans weren't buying it.

"Jihoon ease up for me yeah? Is the Ring Master here? No. So just calm down a bit, I don't know what it is but something has got you freaked, I can see your tail going like mad." His eyes widened when Jihoon looked up at him with big, almost pleading eyes as his bottom lip was tugged between his teeth. And the next thing Seungcheol knew the tail had latched itself around his calf instead, fighting back the grin forming on his face from the way the other blushed when he realised what had happened. "It's fine, leave it there."

"We just don't know what you want. People normally want photos, autographs, things like that-"

"Well we're planning on coming to a VIP show per week, so we aren't desperate to get that stuff now, we'd rather just take this opportunity to actually talk to you." Vernon interrupted with, but it still resulted in an awkward silence afterwards. "So what's the worst part about performing, like learning the new routines, the different languages- how many languages can you speak?" Thankfully conversation finally blossomed and flowed within the group, laughter was even briefly heard at one point as other performers came over and joined in the conversation. All equally as new to the concept of just genuine interaction on a normal level with fans.

*

And with that the remaining time they had to do an initial evaluation on the life of the hybrids came to an end and Seungcheol was honestly having a hard time walking away with such few new leads and evidence. But deep down he knew it wasn't going to be anywhere as easy as the other circuses they had previously investigated, it was going to take more time to get this right. Plus at their previous investigations they didn't really try to befriend the performers as much as this, they were more than happy to talk to them as Officers but with a case as big as this they couldn't risk revealing their identity just yet. It was as if the second that he left Jihoon would be suffering and abused, or dealing with God knows what else, and that it would be all his fault for not being able to protect the hybrids of the circus well enough. One look at Hansol and he knew the other felt the same, a simple wave and a few words didn't feel like enough, yet hugging them felt unwelcome.

It was decided for him when Jihoon seemed to half head butt half nuzzle against him, a cold little nose rubbing against his cheek and for the briefest of seconds he could have sworn that Jihoon had purred faintly. Looking over he saw Seungkwan grabbing Hansol's hands and squeezing them before darting away with a smile on his face, wings flapping and sending various posters spinning in whirlwinds around the almost empty room. Jihoon quickly followed but not before throwing one last look over his shoulder and smiling at them both. But Seungcheol liked to pretend it was just for him. And that thought stayed with him all the way to the car, until it was ruined by Hansol just being, well Hansol.

"Nuzzling is like some A grade cat flirting, he totally wants you Cheol." He teased as they unlocked the car and clambered in.

"No he doesn't, stop making things up." Seungcheol growled out with venom, hoping it concealed the way his heart was still thumping in his chest as he reversed out of the space and joined the queue for the exit. He tried to focus on the gradually moving line of cars in front of him and not the stupid faces Hansol was pulling in the passenger seat.

"Well maybe this time your mom will accept you because you're sort of, like technically getting some pussy?"

"Hansol!" At that point the car swerved rather dangerously but the howl of absolute agony from Hansol made it all worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Readers! Finally another update! Please be gentle with me 9+k is a lot to spell check! But yes, here it is, in all its massive glory, we finally have some interaction woo!!! Things are starting to heat up between the boys now, getting interesting, or at least I hope it is, I really hope you guys like this new chapter I honestly spent the full two weeks working on it to try and make it perfect because that whole pressure point thing was so hard to construct in a realistic way plus remembering to switch names and constantly bring in the police stuff like yikes! Was a lot! But as long as you guys are happy its all worth it! Kudos and comments are always so loved and appreciated so let me know what you think down below! I'll see you in a week or two!x

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! My god this is one hell of a first chapter! But to be honest most of my chapters will be a minimum of 6/7k ish regardless but I really just wanted to get alllllll the character building and backgrounds done. I've never really seen it set out in a timeline before like I just did so let me know if that worked for you and if it was easy enough to follow! Obviously my other chapters won't be like that though! Plus this is just the prologue technically so I hope you're looking forward to the real story starting up next week sometime (I should be updating regularly every one or two weeks) but whatever you're feeling I hope it's good! Have a great day/night everyone!
> 
> Thank you to @obeagler for being my beta! Go check out her stuff too!
> 
> Favourite, Kudos, Upvote this fic if you're liking it so far, and lemme know what you think in the comments! See you soon.


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